AI-Generated Models Shake Up the Fashion Industry and Raise Concerns
Explore how AI-generated models are changing the fashion industry and prompting classroom discussions on ethics, media literacy, and technology.
Note: If you are short on time, watch the video and complete this See, Think, Wonder activity: What did you notice? What did the story make you think about? What would you want to learn more about?
The rise of artificial intelligence has touched nearly every industry, disrupting long-established workflows and raising concerns about job losses. Now, the fashion world is reckoning with these changes as AI takes hold, from virtual fitting rooms to AI avatars starring in marketing campaigns. Ali Rogin reports on the refashioning of the industry and why it’s raising alarms.
View the transcript of the story.
Discussion Questions
- Which major magazine company received backlash for its use of AI models?
- Why are people defending the use of AI models?
- Who is Valentina Gonzalez, and how does she use AI models?
- How is the use of AI models changing the modeling industry?
- What demographic of people are most upset by the use of AI models, according to this segment?
Focus Questions
- What do you think are the economic impacts of using AI models for adverstising?
- "It's important that companies actually celebrate diverse people, not just sort of showcase an avatar who is diverse," Sara Ziff said. What do you think she meant? Why would real models represent a different kind of diversity than computer-generated models?
- Media Literacy: If you could interview an additional person about this topic, who would you choose and why?
Extension Activity
"What is real — what is not in an AI-generated world," asks Sinead Bovell, tech entrepreneur and former model, explaining that currently there are no regulations in place that require a company to disclose whether or not they are using AI in their advertisements or marketing. Should such regulations be put in place? A helpful analogy might be the requirement of media companies to label an advertisement as "paid or sponsored content" to differentiate it from an actual news story, with the main goal being transparency.
Take a look at the article How different states are approaching AI by the Brookings Institution. Write a short public policy proposal which would require companies to state if they used an AI image or model in their advertisement. Alternatively, write a short proposal if you don't feel such guardrails are necessary.
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Republished with permission from PBS News Hour Classroom.
PBS News Hour Classroom helps teachers and students identify the who, what, where and why-it-matters of the major national and international news stories. The site combines the best of News Hour's reliable, trustworthy news program with lesson plans developed specifically for... See More
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