Made Levi a favour She wants to use artificial intelligence to automatically generate images of models with a greater variety. The jeans manufacturer has announced its collaboration with an Amsterdam AI company for this Laland on me. This announcement led to many critical reactions on social media.

Critics opined that it would be better for the variance to give human models more work than computer-generated ones. Levi’s use of artificial intelligence to create more diverse models instead of hiring more diverse real people is exactly the kind of bullshit you’d expect from this industry. thus British trade union organizer Thom Binding.

Also branding expert Lisa Barron deplore Levy’s plan message. “Instead of creating real opportunities for minorities, we use artificial intelligence to show people who don’t exist at all,” she interpreted the ad.

Last year, Levi’s laid off 700 people in a deep cut. The company may also hope to save money with artificial intelligence.

Levi backs off

Levi has now further explained the collaboration with Lalande in an update. “We do not see this project as a way to promote diversity or as a substitute for real action to achieve our goals of diversity, equality, and inclusion, and it should not be presented as such.”

The company says it is experimenting with artificial intelligence to improve the “consumer experience.” “It can help us show more images of our products to a range of different body types more quickly.” Partnering with Lalande, Levys said, could give consumers a better idea of ​​what a particular product looks like. “But it should not be confused with a commitment or strategy to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

Levi’s promises that she will never shy away from taking pictures with real models. “Telling authentic stories has always been a part of how we connect with our fans and human models and collaborators are at the heart of that experience.”