By now you would have seen the AI doll trend going round on social media. People creating themselves into little action figures, with some mini accessories like laptops, coffee cups, plants and pets. What started as a playful trend has now turned into a debate within the creative industry.
In April this new AI trend took over our feeds. People are using ChatGPT to upload photos of themselves and give it a prompt to create them into a small barbie-like characters wrapped in casing. This rapidly evolved across a number of platforms, including big name brands to join the bandwagon, including Royal Mail, Aldi and Primark. his caused an outrage from creatives who started the movement #StarterPackNoAI, lead from French illustrators Gaetan Gabrielle, Penelope Bagleu, and Patouret.
The growth of AI has swiftly evolved and is becoming an everyday use for some people. While the use of it is controversial, there a lot of benefits to using it to enhance overall workflow and experimentation. Co-founder or Wired Magazine Kevin Kelly touches upon this, explaining using ChatGPT for him was the joy of creating on there. Everything that was made on there was not created to be shared in anyway, but for pure enjoyment and experimentation. “Most of the 50 million images generated by a variety of AI tools every day, he believes, aren’t for mass consumption—they’re made for the quiet joy of creation itself”. So, is this trend just a source of enjoyment?
However, the main issues that creatives are highlighting include copyright, de humanising creativity, overlooking the time and passion from people and the environmental impact that AI can have. Gaetan highlighted this when starting the movement quoting “As a reminder, and as I previously explained in my last video, all of this also has an ecological impact….” Therefore, a series of illustrators and other designers have produced their own versions, adding unique style and personality.
Each one of these dolls that we have seen online are a small description of the people behind the profile, all unique and creative, but do you think this trend is harmful for using AI rather than human talent? Join the conversation.
