Over the last few weeks, I have used a headshot that I have had generated with AI as my LinkedIn avatar. I have received several comments, the most pertinent being, ‘Is that you Mike?’. Clearly not.
For those of you who know me will probably know I like having my picture taken. Every year, I try to prepare a new lifestyle shot or portrait for use on social etc. Some may consider this to be the height of vanity, and quite frankly, I would probably agree.
As we continue to learn how to use and develop new AI tools to improve our productivity, we are also trying to find ways to fit them in to the context of our careers or businesses. As a designer and developer of applications and websites, one of our regularly required deliverables are headshots of team members of the clients we are working for.
In the good old days, this would comprise of a photo shoot, and more often than not, a tricky exercise to schedule, stage and produce a decent outcome. Over the last few decades, as post production tools have made the final images of a higher and higher quality, the outcome and standards of headshots and portraiture has improved by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately, however, the overall production process remains laborious and lengthy, and can be pretty expensive depending on what you are looking for.
So in steps AI with it’s mighty technocratic swagger, and starts to try to provide a solution. Now all I have to do is upload 17 (?) selfies, choose a context, background environment and some predetermined clothing and I receive a raft of different shots to choose from.
From the couple of hundred shots I received, unfortunately none of them really hit the mark – some look like me when scaled down, but most gave me a receding hairline and a pretty fake smile. You be the judge…
These are some of the selfies and original headshots I input in to the AI…
And these are some of the (better) outputs…
Funnily enough, I don’t think we are there with this yet, and honestly, the authenticity point tends to make me think that we might never be there. It is a digital reproduction of my likeness, sure, but it will be a long time before I stop having a photograph represent me rather than an algorithmic digital mashup of my face on someone else’s body.