An argument against AI panic for creatives
Strategy director Lara Ferris knows what it’s like to be replaced by AI; it started happening in her career a decade ago. But she hasn't lost faith in the future it's ushering in.
This story is part of AI’M SCARED, a series in which we explore the impact – good and bad – of AI on fashion and the creative industries. Read more on the topic here: In an AI-driven world, taste is the ultimate currency, 19 photographers react to the use of AI models, Digital models are fashion's latest nightmare, and How designers, photographers, stylists & more are using AI.
By Lara Ferris
It’s cliché to say that GenAI tools like ChatGPT have changed the game in fashion. But just because the news is getting boring, doesn’t mean the issue’s gone away. For creatives that trade on ideas, it’s hard to underestimate the impact. Take it from me: I surrendered my fashion job to a large language model back in 2016, when mass redundancies seemed farfetched, and gloomy industry predictions excessive. We’ve all been working alongside computers for years. But having spent time transferring our knowledge across to them, we now find that they’re storming ahead without us. What to do? It’s for every individual to decide – but by walking through the problem, and talking about it together, we can start to find some answers.