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VOA文化艺术2024--Clothing Industry Wonders about Effect of AI on Models

时间:2024-04-22 02:54:19

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Clothing Industry Wonders about Effect of AI on Models

  Alexsandrah is a fashion model in London. She has a twin.

  But her twin is not her sister.

  The twin is a product of Artificial Intelligence, or AI.

  Whenever Alexsandrah is not available to work with a photographer, the virtual twin takes her place.

  When a company chooses to use the AI Alexsandrah, the real-life version gets paid. Alexsandrah said her AI twin is exactly like her.

  Alexandrah's twin is an example of how computer images are influencing creative industries.

  Those in favor of using AI in fashion say the virtual models permit companies to show possible buyers how their clothing looks on people of all shapes and sizes. In the real world, it would be difficult and costly1 to find a model for every skin color and body shape.

  The companies that make clothing say using AI prevents people from buying their products, trying them on at home, and then sending them back if they dislike them. The problem is that AI models can take work away from human models, makeup2 artists and photographers.

  Criticism of the fashion industry

  The fashion industry has often been criticized for using models who are only white or tall or who fit one idea of beauty. Activists3 for including many groups in fashion say some companies could seem like they are employing minorities when they are just using AI models.

  Sara Ziff is a former fashion model who started Model Alliance, a nonprofit group for workers' rights in the fashion industry. Ziff said the use of AI shows there is a difference between the industry's words and its actions.

  Levi Strauss is an American clothing company known for its blue jeans. In March 2023, the company said it would be testing AI-generated models from a company in Amsterdam. The aim was to show how its clothing fit people of all sizes. But after criticism, the company said it would not reduce its use of human models.

  Levi Strauss said it would not "substitute" AI for action toward its "diversity, equity4 and inclusion goals."

  The Associated Press (AP) recently asked some clothing businesses to state their position on the use of AI models. AP asked Target, Kohls, Nieman Marcus, Walmart and Macys. It also asked international companies Temu, Shein and H&M. Some chose not to answer. Others said they do not use AI models. Walmart said it does not use AI models but "suppliers may have a different approach to photography."

  Lalaland.ai creates AI models. Michael Musandu started the company. Musandu grew up in Africa and studied in the Netherlands. He started the company when he saw that not many models looked like him – Black and African.

  "One model does not represent everyone that's actually shopping and buying a product," he said. "As a person of color, I felt this painfully myself."

  Musandu said he is seeing a demand for his services, but his product is designed to supplement traditional photography not replace it. The goal is to help a buyer make better decisions and reduce product returns and waste.

  In addition, he said, the company creates new jobs for computer programmers, who train the systems that create the models.

  "If brands are serious about inclusion efforts, they will continue to hire these models of color," Musandu said.

  Industry pioneers

  Others in the fashion industry are fully5 using AI. Cameron Wilson is a former fashion photographer who started a company in Britain called The Diigitals. Wilson, who is white, designed a Black, female model named Shudu in 2017. Wilson was criticized for creating a Black model. But Shudu was used in jobs for companies like Louis Vuitton and BMW. It also helped the human model Alexsandrah. She has worked in fashion shows as a real-life version of the AI model.

  Alexsandrah said she is proud of her work that has come from The Diigitals. "The future generations can look back at and be like, ‘These are the pioneers,'" she said.

  Other models are not feeling so good about AI. Yve Edmond works as a "fit model." She tries on clothes for companies who want to see how their designs fit a real person. She worries that the AI modeling companies are using images and videos of real people to train their systems. She calls that a violation6 because humans are not being paid for their part in the technology.

  Edmond said she was called for a photo session, but there were no new clothes. She was asked to move her body in certain ways and walk for a recording7. The client said it was "research." Edmond said she felt "swindled."

  Unlike film actors and writers, who went on strike to protest the use of AI without a legal agreement, there are no similar labor8 groups for models.

  Ziff, of Model Alliance, is pushing for labor laws for fashion workers. The state of New York is working on the Fashion Workers Act. The law would include laws related to models who are used in AI. A model would need to give written permission to a company that planned to use AI to create a computer image of the model. The contract would show the pay rate and the length of time that the replica9 could be used.

  For AI and the fashion business, it is still early. Ziff compared it to a time of lawlessness in the early American West. Alexsandrah said she believes AI is helping10 her career—with the right rules. But Edmond is not so sure about AI.

  She said Earth has "a person of every shade, every height, every size. Why not find that person and compensate11 that person?"

  Words in This Story

  fashion –adj. related to the industry of making clothes and appealing to people who want to buy clothing

  twin –n. one of two babies who are born at the same time and often look like on another; an exact copy of something else

  virtual –adj. related to something stored digitally on a computer

  makeup –n. beauty products for the face

  diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) –n. ideas held by many different kinds of people who say they aim to make society equal through political, social and economic actions

  supplement –n. something that adds to an existing product, industry or other form of activity

  pioneer –n. a person who goes to a new place or does something in a way that has never been seen before

  swindle –v. to cheat a person of something valuable

  replica –n. an exact copy

  compensate—v. to pay someone using methods that can include but are not limited to money


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
2 makeup 4AXxO     
n.组织;性格;化装品
参考例句:
  • Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
  • Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗?
3 activists 90fd83cc3f53a40df93866d9c91bcca4     
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
  • Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 equity ji8zp     
n.公正,公平,(无固定利息的)股票
参考例句:
  • They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
  • To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值,墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。
5 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
6 violation lLBzJ     
n.违反(行为),违背(行为),侵犯
参考例句:
  • He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说,那是违反规则的。
  • He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。
7 recording UktzJj     
n.录音,记录
参考例句:
  • How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间?
  • I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
8 labor P9Tzs     
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦
参考例句:
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
9 replica 9VoxN     
n.复制品
参考例句:
  • The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
  • The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。
10 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
11 compensate AXky7     
vt.补偿,赔偿;酬报 vi.弥补;补偿;抵消
参考例句:
  • She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
  • Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

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