Will machines take over the fashion industry?

“No area of life or business will be insulated from AI, in the same way that no part of society hasn't been touched by the Internet.” – Chris Dixon, partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz

Slowly but surely artificial intelligence has been creeping its way into our daily lives, impacting industries like Law, Tech and Sports Journalism among many.  We have discussed how artificial intelligence can help businesses scale personal services, build better products, and optimize efficiency. The question remains whether or not the fashion industry is prepared for the AI revolution, and in which ways this specific domain will be able to harness the benefits of the rapidly growing trend.

Think of the last time you bought something online, what was that experience like? You probably identified the desired website, scrolled through their clothing selection in hopes of finding the apparel that fit your price, size and design criteria. These interactions not only took time, but they also didn’t guarantee full satisfaction. What would happen if online shopping became a conversation instead? Shoppers could describe their ideal jeans or dress of their dreams, and in the matter of seconds, an AI search engine would match their criteria to the closest matches – think of it as your personal AI shopping assistant.

In the last few years we’ve seen an increase in buzz words like machine learning, neural networks, big data and algorithm matching. The computing devices that we use on a daily basis have the capacity to generate an enormous amount of data sets, which are ultimately analyzed, by deep learning algorithms, in order to predict trends and identify patterns. With machine learning processes, the more data introduced within the system, the faster and “better” the machine learns to effectively perform its task. Under this assumption, the fashion industry will be able to make use of machine learning and the big data sets collected in order to predict trends and tend to consumer behaviors.

The future of retail is just around the corner if AI manages to deliver scalable and original one-to-one online shopping experiences. In fact, various fashion houses have turned to technology and AI to offer their customers more personalized and customizable services. ASAP54, dubbed the “Shazam for fashion” uses AI and image recognition to build search engines for fashion. ASAP54 users can snap a picture of someone on the street wearing an outfit they like, and the application will be able to search through a huge database of purchasable products in order to generate the closest matches to the uploaded item. Similarly, Thread, an online personal styling service, partners eight human personal stylists with machine learning algorithms that crawl through more than31 million customer-submitted ratings, and over 4 trillion item combinations in order to recommend outfits to their customers.

AI’s ability to manage, analyze and remember a vast amount of data allows it to scale up fast. The fashion industry would do good to jump on the AI train while is hot, revolutionizing the way they do business, as well as the way customers interact with fashion.  

This past May 2016, IBM Watson joined forces with Fashion magnate house Marchesa to design a unique “cognitive dress” for this year’s Met Gala theme on Manus x Machina: fashion inan Age of Technology . The unique dress was data-driven, embedded with LED lights that allowed it to change colors in real time depending on the social media mood of users commenting through the gala’s Twitter feed. Amazingly enough, the dress used the same kind of cognitive tools that Watson has applied when famously beating the human champion of quiz show"Jeopardy". If you want to learn more about how the dress relies on cognitive APIs and inputs in order to incorporate technology and fashion, make sure to read this article, and watch the video below.

Thank You Mister President

Do you know what is happening on November 8^th this year? If I tell you that this date will change the face of the world whether it is for better or for worse, does it help? Yes, I’m referring to the American election of the 45^th president of the United States.

In this crucial period, I would like to talk about an interview that President Obama gave to Wired magazine editor in chief Scott Dadich and MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its potential risk on affecting national security but also on how it will affect society and how governments will have to adapt to this new actor.

A thing is sure: The next president of the United States of America will face numerous challenges regarding AI !!!

One of the most interesting pieces of information coming from this interview is that, in contrast with what a high percentage of the population think, Artificial Intelligence is not likely to take over human beings soon. In other words, a Hollywood movie scenario as “I Robot”, an example among many, isn’t likely to take place today or even in a near future. That kind of scenario is what Obama and people comfortable with AI call: “Generalized AI”.

However, what is happening right now, which is more frightening, is what we call: “specialized AI”, which can be summarized vulgarly by how human beings can develop and create sophisticated algorithms in order to solve extremely complex problems. It is more or less an “extension of our intelligence”.

Of course it has many positive points. To name a few, It could/ can cure diseases, it can reduce at its maximum human errors, it can also (if you remember one of our previous articles) drive cars and much more.

But on the other hand, behind all those amazing facts and possibilities that it offers, there is also a dark side of the “specialized Artificial Intelligence”.

First of all, one very simple question: Do we really want everything and everybody to be perfect? Is this the representation we have of a perfect world? A world without diseases? Without robbers? I can keep going because the list goes on and everybody will admit that it is a very difficult question. However, we have to think about it because it will need an answer in a near future.

But for now, lets talk about the main challenges that we are facing. First, it is important to understand that for the moment what is dangerous is not Artificial Intelligence but actors that are behind it, the ones who create algorithms and decide to use them with more or less good intentions.  One of the examples that President Obama gives is: If you have a computer that can play “Go”, a very complicated game, what could happen if somebody develops an algorithm that is able to maximize profit on financial markets and consequently takes financial markets down? Or, going further: What would happen if an algorithm were created with the intention of penetrating the nuclear system and launch missiles? There are so many other examples that governments have to think about, but one thing is sure, they will have to think a step ahead to ensure our security. This point leads us to another challenge that governments are facing: Where is the border between security and intrusion and where is the border between defense and offense.

« Figuring out how we regulate connectivity on the Internet in a way that is accountable, transparent, and safe, that allows us to get at the bad guys but ensures that the government does not possess so much power in all of our lives that it becomes a tool for oppression-We’re still working on that »

President Barack Obama

Indeed, on one hand the governments have to anticipate potential attacks, intrusion and in order to do that they have to catch and analyze external information. But on the other hand, by doing that, they intrude on people’s privacy. So what is the best way to reduce risk at its maximum without encroaching on our private life and becoming the “Big Brother is watching you” that everybody fears.

So many questions are yet to be answered on this topic full of uncertainties but this would be my main advice: educate yourself on one of today’s major problematic which is Artificial Intelligence and watching the full interview (find clip below) between President Obama, Scott Dadich and Joi Ito is a good start in doing so.