Daily Generations: Endless Headshots

Created in: DALL-E 3

A low-lift practical application for generative imaging is an infinite amount of dummy user profile pictures for prototypes, mockups, and user personas.

Unfortunately, today’s exercise for me highlights a significant problem with the current state of AI. Most of the women have almost identical faces. It also didn’t generate any women who look older than 35. This is not the case for the men. I feel this says a lot about the training data that feeds these machines. The data is obviously a product of cultural beauty standards and social attitudes towards women and their appearance. However, I believe there is a chance here to change things for the better.

AI reflects a mirror back at us. What we put in is what we get out. Companies like OpenAI can take the opportunity now to monitor what goes in, not just what we see in the culture around us, but what we would like to see in the future.

I’m far from the first to write on this topic, and I’m a long way from the best. But it’s something to think on, and talk about. If it’s talked about enough, companies will take notice.