I must admit, I am the person who sees the advances of the Boston Dynamics robots and thinks, “You definitely need to destroy that thing now before it kills us all.” Needless to say, I am not the most tech adventurous. However, recently I had been seeing a lot about AI in fashion and decided to look more into it, that led to finding KNXT boutique and today diving into the /madeline platform from the same group.
/madeline is an AI that is supposed to help you shop luxury. It supposed to be your personal shopper, helping you navigate. It beckoned for as much detail as possible, so I wrote to it. “I’m looking for white one shoulder blouses that I can wear to a cocktail party.”
The blouse it suggested to me was beautiful, but not white or one shoulder. Was it telling me that it didn’t like my idea?
I gave it another chance. “I am looking for a black ball gown with sequins.”
Now, I am offended. It didn’t even try to show me a dress. A floral cream-colored blouse that is definitely not black. Hopefully the third time is the charm. “I am looking for a red t-shirt,” I typed. That should be simple enough. No chance to mess that up.
/madeline wrote back.
“I understand that you are looking for a red t-shirt, but I wanted to introduce you to a stunning Yves Saint Laurent blouse that you may love. This “Blouse in Satin” is a beautiful piece that features a black and white polka dot print on top of a cream-colored background. It boasts a seductive lavalliere-neck with padded shoulders and wide sleeves, making it a perfect combination of classic and contemporary fashion. The luxurious satin material will make you feel elegant and chic. Even though it is not a red t-shirt, it will elevate your wardrobe to the next level and surely turn heads.”
I asked for a red t-shirt. It essentially told me no. “This black and white checked shirt will look better than what you think you want.” It is one thing for the algorithm to be poorly calibrated. It is a whole other thing for the AI to just say, “Ew, you have horrible taste. I have scoured the internet, so I will make better fashion choices than you, human.” Or maybe it is just a ploy to promote products, and it was never going to make real suggestions in the first place.
Obviously, as brands and the whole world tries to use AI more to make things simpler, there are going to be problems as we learn to use the technology and evolve. Well, as they use it. I will smugly sit that out, and let a real human misunderstand my wishes and insult my taste just like the good ole days.
Final note: I tried it one more time. I typed in “black leather jacket women’s oversized.” This is what it suggested: Women’s One-shoulder Peplum Jumper in Ivory from Alexander McQueen.
I hate it here.
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