L’Intelligenza Artificiale è in Casa
In the rapidly evolving world of technology, artificial intelligence (AI) is making its mark on various industries, including the realm of fashion photography. Vogue Italia recently stirred up a storm of mixed reactions with its AI-generated cover photo shoot featuring the supermodel Bella Hadid. While AI has the potential to revolutionize the fashion industry, this project received a fair share of criticism for alleged “poor image quality and execution”.
If you still did not see it, I’d strongly suggest you read the original first and then return to the discussion.
The Vogue Italia AI Experiment
For the May 2023 issue of Vogue Italia, Hadid was shot by photographer Carlijn Jacobs, who then collaborated with AI artist Chad Nelson to combine the photos with AI-generated art using DALL-E 2. The final images depict Hadid against AI-generated backgrounds, resulting from text prompts such as “Big green inflatable balloon in a gallery caught on film” and “A large strawberry behind a model and people in striped dresses.”
The Controversy
Despite Vogue Italia’s description of the photo shoot as a “fascinating interplay between human creativity and artificial imagery,” social media users were quick to criticize the publication’s use of AI. Many were disappointed by the “low-quality AI-generated imagery”, with some calling it “lame” and “forced.” Others were more concerned about the implications of AI on human talent in the industry.
From my side, I do agree that some images have the ugly “AI signature”, with some aspects of the images being – well – just ugly. For most of the images though, I consider they’ve done a great job mixing AI and human-created art.
AI and Photography (or life in general)
There’s no denying that AI has the potential to be a powerful tool in fashion photography and in many aspects of life. It can offer innovative and creative solutions, enhance human capabilities, and break down barriers that might prevent people from pursuing their passions. However, the key to success is finding the right balance between AI and human input, ensuring that the result maintains quality and authenticity.
Us vs Them
As with most recent things in mankind, we are divided into two blocks with opposite visions. On one side, some of us embrace it and go all in, sacrificing some requisites in the search for the new. Across the street, there is less rush and less willingness to accept such sacrifices in quality, safety or what have you.
This polarization causes a lot of fuss and discussions that could – if we were able to leave all prejudice behind – lead to a balanced evolution and a better solution for us all. The trick is how to get 2 different “religions” to sit peacefully and discuss their different dogmas. Maybe there is an AI-powered app for that?
Balance: The Fugacity of Modern-Day Enlightenment.
As photography and tech in general move towards incorporating AI, it is historically proven that we will split into different niches. Would it be possible for us as a species to sit down and understand both sides without fighting for our own cemented position? During this naive, mythological and peaceful conversation, would our meatware be open source enough to try to incorporate the traditions, quality standards and safety and still make room for lowering any unfounded criticism and work together towards the unavoidable fast development, while keeping safety measures, quality and authenticity? As a mythical cherry on top of this steep Everest cake, could we still ensure that human talent remains an essential component in the creative process?
My Humble Opinion
The Vogue Italia AI-generated photo shoot with Bella Hadid showcases the immense potential that AI has and that might revolutionize not only the fashion photography industry. By balancing AI and human input, this innovative collaboration between artists and technology has achieved not perfect but still impressive results. As a self-proclaimed maven and tech enthusiast, I applaud their boldness, their creative vision, and how they surfed the current AI wave to their benefit.
I applaud their boldness with only one hand, as the other is too busy typing how photography as we knew it will soon die 😉
