Views of AI
Like any other industry, fashion is not immune to the AI craze. Sites like The New Black offer to “bring your ideas to life” by using generative AI to create images of clothing, accessories, or runway shows based on the user’s prompt. Maison Meta, a New York City startup garnered buzz for hosting the first AI Fashion Week in April 2023. It seems like every other article in fashion publications references AI and its benefits as well as its risks.
There is a lot of fear surrounding Artificial Intelligence, specifically in the arts. Some are terrified of their jobs being replaced by AI, while others worry about the large-scale implications of art made without use of a human. While this unease is completely understandable, it is important to refocus on the big picture — technology has constantly changed the world of industry, art, and design. Seamstresses of olden days were likely faced with many of the same emotions when learning about the sewing machine, fearing that their roles would become obsolete due to new technology. Even more recently, computers disrupted the design process, shifting from pen and paper illustrations to digitally drawn technical designs and 3D rendered samples.
If we take the example of the sewing machine, one could make many of the same arguments being brought against AI. The mechanical sewing motion takes away the authenticity of stitches, the efficient machines will cause craftspeople to lose their jobs, and creativity will be reduced due to the use of technological aid. These are all true, and the landscape of fashion and textiles was forever changed by the implementation of the sewing machine. However, we know now that by training to use the machine, many new jobs opened up as machinists and sewing machine technicians, and by vastly reducing the time required to sew a garment, creativity has grown to new heights in fashion.
AI, like any other technology, is not inherently destroying creativity and ruining job prospects: it is causing a technological shift. Workers must keep up and learn new skills in order to adapt, but like those who learned how to use Adobe Illustrator when they were only used to drawing in pen, it can be done. When used as a tool, AI has great potential to further creativity and innovation in the fashion industry by cutting out time spent on production tasks.
However, like any technology, there is also potential for massive risks.
Designer Rachel Koukal created a Dune-inspired, size-inclusive collection for AI Fashion Week 2023.
“I’ve used it to essentially collaborate with myself, but in a way I see it almost as if you’re collaborating with the collective consciousness of all humanity, and that’s something that’s really exciting to explore.”
Koukal’s quote, while a touching perspective on artificial intelligence, euphemizes one of the main concerns surrounding AI. This "collaboration” with humanity refers to information scraping, the central mechanism of generative AI services. By sucking up vast amounts of information found on the internet, they are able to regurgitate a generated image formed from bits of other work, never giving credit or acknowledging their source. Many artists are horrified by this process, and rightfully so: their art is being used, without their consent, and there is no way to claim copyright or ask for compensation.
As with any technology, we must rely on oversight to strike a balance of progress that moves forward in an acceptable way. If decisions are left to for-profit companies to make, they will almost always choose the path of highest efficiency and lowest cost, regardless of the complicated ethics surrounding the issue. One can think of the Industrial Revolution, where extreme progress and horrific treatment of workers stemmed from the outbreak of new technology. Through strikes, informing the public, and eventual government regulations, industry emerged at a slightly more balanced (though by no means perfect) interaction with technology. In the end, the public must continue to put pressure on companies through their buying power to deter overuse of technology like Artificial Intelligence.