New Absolut program aims to fight AI bias in fashion

Absolut Vodka has partnered with Copy Lab in an effort to increase diversity and inclusiveness in fashion content generated by AI.

AI, especially the generative kind, has continued to captivate adland in 2024, serving as the focal point for both the latest earnings discussionsand creative marketing swings alike. However, the buzzy tech has equally found itself at the center of scrutiny for major shortcomings like its habit of generating factual inaccuracies and its amplification of race and gender stereotypes, leading some marketers to speak out with messages of caution.

With its latest effort, Absolut is addressing AI bias in fashion, a category for which a lack of representation could be particularly damaging. “Absolut Intelligence” saw the Pernod Ricard brand and Copy Lab input 10,000 image prompts into AI datasets that highlight a diverse representation of fashion and culture and create 25 unique and inclusive images. The goal is that by increasing the amount of representative content being processed, generative AI algorithms will become trained to understand and correctly interpret the diversity of fashion.

The images generated are available for free use on stock image site Unsplash and will also be featured in the second edition of Copy Magazine, billed as the world’s first printed AI fashion magazine. A microsite additionally serves to explain the effort, which is meant to expand an over 40-year push by the brand to rally behind inclusivity, fluidity and diverse representation, according to Debasree Dasgupta, global vice president of marketing at Absolut.

Full story at Marketing Dive.