Fashion Jobs Most Vulnerable to AI

Laziness, cheesiness and cynicism all in one fell swoop, wrote American film illustrator and producer Peter Ramsey in a March 24 comment that was liked more than 4,000 times on Twitter.

This is not the feedback brands want to hear when announcing they are betting on a new technology.

But that’s just one of many negative comments on social media in response to denim maker Levi Strauss & Co.’s announcement. last month that they would be experimenting with AI-generated fashion models on their website.

In the press release, Levis describes generative AI, a type of artificial intelligence that can generate images, audio, video, and text from user requests as a way to increase the variety of models buyers see. AI-generated body-inclusive avatars, the company says, will allow Levis to display hyper-realistic models of every body type, age, size, and skin tone on its website and do so faster than possible.

The announcement generated a lot of excitement from technology enthusiasts who were excited to see generative AI used in the real world. But critics of Levis say the company appears to be using AI as a means to circumvent actual diversity which could potentially rob job opportunities of the model minority and exacerbate longstanding disparities in the fashion industry. Piece the title of the story Levis You Can Only Rent Multiple Models? Guard highlighted the technology itself, describing the AI ​​model’s single neck as a poor attempt at using the FaceTunes eraser effect to hide a double chin.

In a statement on March 28 responding to the criticism, Levis said it would not skimp on the use of human models and did not see pilots as a means of advancing diversity or as a substitute for concrete action to be taken.

We recognize that there are understandable sensitivities around AI-related technologies, and we wanted to clarify that this pilot is something we will try later this year in hopes of strengthening the consumer experience, the company said.

Levis’ bumpy launch almost perfectly encapsulates the ethical and business questions that many companies have to deal with as the latest wave of artificial intelligence, especially ChatGPT, a chatbot that can answer questions, write essays and even compose songs gains momentum. AI proponents argue that technology can be a powerful tool to help brands cut costs, stay competitive, and improve the creativity and results of their teams. But there are darker scenarios where companies bluntly use AI as a one-to-one replacement for humans veering into various ethical challenges while trading off the many benefits of human creativity.

It’s a complex topic that the fashion industry and others have grappled with for decades, since the earliest waves of factory automation. There is no direct answer to the question of how much automation is hurting or helping jobs. Research shows fears that a wave of automation will trigger mass unemployment are generally unfounded, with robots and AI creating and eliminating job opportunities. Who suffers or benefits can depend on anything from the country to the company and the education level and ethnicity of employees.

Fashion isn’t usually the first industry to embrace new technology. But companies need to start thinking about their approach to automation while new uses of AI are in the experimental stage, experts say.

Innovation can happen fast in [retail] environment and we have a responsibility to educate individuals on how to step up to their roles and train them into other positions quickly, said Greg Petro, founder and chief executive officer of First Insight, a digital platform that uses AI to test brands and retailers’ products. But trying to reduce the potential for productivity and the innovation it can generate only hurts the company.

Job Landscape

Many fashion companies already use some form of artificial intelligence and automation in their day-to-day operations, especially in areas such as supply chain and customer service.

Unlike previous forms of automation (self-checkout machines in grocery stores are one example), the most controversial recent AI development, ChatGPT, is expected to influence a large proportion of white-collar jobs in areas such as data analysis, law, finance, media, and content creation. As many as 300 million full-time jobs worldwide could be affected though not eliminated by automation like ChatGPT, according to a Goldman Sachs report released last week.

Fashion companies will most likely be interested in using ChatGPT or similar programs on the customer engagement side, including customer service and support for online and even client interactions, Petro said.

Looking a little further, roles in areas such as marketing, copywriting, merchandising, design and content creation could see shifts in both the number of jobs available and the nature of how work is done, said Rohan Deuskar, founder and chief executive of Stylitics, a platform that uses AI to create kits, styles, and rewards programs for brands and retailers like Puma, Revolve, Macys, and Kohls.

For example, AI tools can handle low-risk tasks like sorting through thousands of products and quickly displaying product descriptions and clothing ideas for use on brand websites, said Deuskar. For designers, automation can perform repetitive tasks such as taking measurements or entering garment specifications into a database.

Excludes the ugly, laborious, and manual parts, leaving the tradesman or designer to focus on more creative or high-stakes exercises like dreaming up a vision for a brand or product, he says.

However, if it’s entirely someone’s job to do these kinds of things manually creating images or writing product descriptions, they may fall behind, says Deuskar.

Straight ahead

The best case scenario, experts say, is that artificial intelligence complements and enhances employee performance and that companies are aware of how automating certain tasks will affect their internal culture, as well as the diversity of their workforce.

In 2020, when Nordstrom opened its new West Coast Omni Center, a distribution center that fills customer and store orders, retailers duped the facility with robotics and other technology enhancements, which automate tasks such as picking up product and transporting it through the facility and sorting. package. The result, the company says, is that goods move more quickly through the facility and customers receive merchandise more quickly than when products are shipped from traditional (less automated) distribution centers.

Its employees, says Nordstrom, can then focus on customer-oriented actions like quality [and] accuracy.

One way companies can introduce new automation to their workforce and ensure hiring is by surveying their staff to find out what things they really don’t want to do, says Deuskar.

In general, companies shouldn’t be flocking to every new technology model that promises cost savings or efficiency gains, experts say.

For employees concerned that their jobs may be at risk, it may be helpful to list the 10 or so things they spend most time on, and identify which ones are most vulnerable to automation, says Petro.

From there, refocusing on getting better on the things that won’t go away, he says.

That might mean being trained in AI as well.

In the next few years, people who know how to use the tools will be ready for the next stage of work, he said.