Is AI a threat to our values?
By 2025, artificial intelligence is predicted to generate 90% of online content. That’s the opening statement in Dove’s latest campaign. AI has truly exploded over the last year or so, whilst it was built into many tech platforms for years, the surge has come from new generative AI that is free to use.
You can ask AI to create an image for you, write a blog outline, even pull together a meal plan. AI is fun, it’s futuristic, and it certainly makes things easier, but are we at risk of getting carried away? The sudden access to good, free-to-use AI technology is pretty unprecedented.
It’s widely recognized that there is a level of concern amongst most creatives about what generative AI in particular could mean for the job market in the future. Yet there’s more than just potential job losses to consider in our adoption of AI.
The Code - Dove
This month, long-time body image advocator, Dove, launched its latest campaign. ‘The Code’ addresses the issue of generative AI and body image. Perhaps there’s not an immediate connection there, but once you watch the ad you’ll understand.
AI has changed the way many people work, it’s removed a lot of barriers, and it’s saved a lot of time, but there are downsides too. As well as the obvious concern around it replacing humans in the job market, the lack of regulation, of morals even, is something we need to address.
The Code illustrates the point incredibly well, showing AI’s interpretation of ‘perfect skin’ or ‘beautiful’ to be uncommon, unrealistic, and unattainable. The beauty industry in particular has come a long way in the last decade or so when it comes to body image. The debate used to be around Photoshop, today it’s Facetune.
France took the lead when the country introduced the ‘Photoshop Law’ a law requiring any images that had been retouched to be labeled as such. There has been a huge movement away from unrealistic beauty standards and many brands have embraced this.
Meta labels any AI-generated images created using its own AI software as ‘Imagined with AI’ and is working with other tech companies to be able to do the same with AI content made via other companies too. This is a solid step towards keeping the line between reality and AI clear to consumers across social media.
The responsibility of generative AI
Now, photo editing tools are in the hands of the everyday person, without regulation or guidelines. Just because we can distort imagery, doesn’t mean we should, or that doing so is harmless. There’s art, of course, and then there’s distorting reality. A study revealed
“One in four girls and one in ten boys had edited photos of themselves in order to change their face or body shape because of concerns about their body image.”
The beauty and fashion industries have seen rules come into play around the use of photo editing, but where does AI come into it? You’re not photoshopping the model if the model doesn’t exist. Dove’s campaign highlights the issue we could be facing and also reminds us that we’ve come a long way. The message is, let’s not be distracted by the opportunities of this new technology and forget what we’ve been working towards all this time. We cannot lose this progress, we cannot forget who we are - which is to say, human, flaws and all.
AI’s explosion in usage and the ability it provides, seemingly with no strings attached makes it attractive. There’s nothing wrong with utilizing AI, in fact we all should be. AI can do things we don’t have the time for, but it can’t come without guidelines, rules, and safety nets.
Dove has decided to lead by example. The brand has pledged not to use AI to represent women in its advertising. The brand has also created its own prompts for people to see that using AI responsibly is possible. The campaign speaks to both the concern around jobs and the moral risks of relying on AI to create, and ultimately decide, what perfection looks like.
An AI glow-up - Pedigree
On the other side of the coin, another news story that caught our attention this week is an AI campaign from Pedigree. Pedigree is utilizing AI to generate billboard-worthy images of shelter dogs in need of a home.
The campaign utilizes the power of AI to take a regular photo of a rescue dog and give the image an AI-powered ‘glow up’ in order to make the dog more appealing to potential new owners. Anyone who owns a dog knows they have a tendency to stop doing that cute pose the second they sense a camera lens is on them, so we can see the benefits.
The cost-savings of using AI versus a photo shoot is something that will make a huge impact to charities and allow them to share images on their social channels for free. As long as these images aren’t misleading, and the result is something good - a dog getting a loving home, this can only be a positive.
The future of AI and regulation
Of course, humans and dogs are totally different and the use of AI to alter their respective images comes with a ton of different considerations. The point is that AI is being used in many creative ways, and we don’t have any rules. The only thing steering the moral decisions behind AI creations is the humans that are creating the prompts and utilizing, or not, the resulting assets.
AI laws and regulations are being explored all around the globe as policymakers hasten to get a hold of this rapidly growing technology. The considerations center around privacy concerns, the risk of misinformation, and assessing the potential for large-scale job losses.
52% of Americans say they feel more concerned than excited about the increased use of artificial intelligence, and 59% of Brits are also concerned about the use of AI. One of the leading AI creators, OpenAI, has even clearly stated the need for government regulation to accompany the new technology.
It’s clear that consumers and creators alike have a desire for regulation. AI has exploded in usage and it’s exciting, but we can’t let AI run away with us. Policymakers are hurriedly looking into laws and guidelines, but in the meantime, as users and as marketers, we need to be mindful of our own usage. At Dotdigital we keep a close eye on our AI technology, making note of both what it will enable and also carefully considering any drawbacks that could possibly come with it.
As consumers, we must be aware of the AI-generated campaigns we see around us that were created by big brands. It was consumers that led the change in body image laws after all, it’s up to all of us to keep a hold on the situation and ensure AI remains useful rather than damaging. Brands such as Dove taking a stance is likely the start of a movement of self-regulation, one we’re excited to see.