Last spring, the clothing brand Levi Strauss & Co. announced plans to introduce "customized AI-generated models" into its online shopping platforms. These "body-inclusive avatars" would come in a range of sizes, ages, and skin tones and would help Levi's create a more "diverse" lineup in a way the company considered "sustainable." A lot of (real) people were appalled. Why not give those jobs to actual humans of the sizes, ages, and skin tones Levi's sought? Was "sustainable" just PR-speak for "cheaper"?

The star of Levi's new campaign looks like any other model . Her tousled hair hangs over her shouldersas she gazes into the camera with that far-off high-fashion stare. But look closer, and something starts to seem a little off. The shadow between her chin and neck looks muddled, like a bad attempt at using FaceTune's eraser effect to hide a double chin. Her French manicured fingernails appear scrubbed clean and uniform in a creepy real doll kind of way.

AI-generated models are coming to Levi's e-commerce sites. The goal is to sustainably increase the number and diversity of models for its products, it said. Founded in 2019, Lalaland utilizes AI to enable fashion brands and retailers to use hyper-realistic models of every body type, age, size, and skin tone. With these body-inclusive avatars, the company aims to create a more "inclusive, personal, and sustainable shopping experience" for fashion brands, retailers, and customers. "We see fashion and technology as both an art and a science, and we're thrilled to be partnering with LaLaLand, a company with such high-quality technology that can help us continue on our journey for a more diverse and inclusive customer experience," said Dr. Amy Gershkoff Bolles, LS&Co.

Our mission is to digitally represent humanity whilst wasting nothing but data. Whether you're a digital designer, brand expert, innovation manager, or just have a curious head on your shoulders, our services can take your fashion journey to a new dimension.

Levi Strauss & Co is taking a futuristic approach when displaying it line of jeans - the company is using models generated by artificial intelligence to show off its clothing and consumers may not be able to tell the difference. Set to launch later this year, the initiative will present AI models in different body types, skin colors ang ages, allowing customers to see how products might look on them. Levi currently displays one human model per clothing item. The San Francisco-based company said'AI will likely never fully replace human models' for the company, but offering a range of digital models will create'a more personal and inclusive shopping experience.' Levi Strauss & Co is set to use AI-generated models to show off its clothing. Can you spot which image is the AI and which is a real person?

Levi's is partnering with an AI company on computer-generated fashion models to "supplement human models." Although that sounds noble on the surface, Levi's is essentially hiring a robot to generate the appearance of diversity while ridding itself of the burden of paying human beings who represent the qualities it wants to be associated with its brand. Levi Strauss is partnering with Amsterdam-based digital model studio Lalaland.ai Founded in 2019, the company's mission is "to see more representation in the fashion industry" and "create an inclusive, sustainable, and diverse design chain." It aims to let customers see what various fashion items would look like on a person who looks like them via "hyper-realistic" models "of every body type, age, size and skin tone."

AI (Artificial Intelligence) seems to be the next big thing in many industries today. On Gartner's 2020 Hype Cycle of Emerging Technologies, for example, we find no less than seven explicitly AI-related trends in the first steep curve of inflated expectations--such as composite AI, generative AI, responsible AI, embedded AI, and explainable AI. For a term that dates back to 1956 and celebrates its 65th birthday this year, this seems remarkable, especially since the productive application of the currently hyped AI variations is expected to take another two to ten years. In this arena of promising AI technologies, the Dutch AI-based startup Lalaland is an interesting case. They have found a way to make AI work in a way that is both tangible and speaks to the imagination. Using AI technology, they are one of the front-runners that may change the online fashion industry and, arguably, make it more inclusive, sustainable, and profitable, thereby speaking to all three P's of the Triple Bottom Line.