Artificial intelligence tools made it possible Generating images almost instantly has never been easier. And AI tools that sell professional headshots for a fee are helping job seekers and workers quickly update their close-ups to look like the best, and sometimes even better, version of themselves. But despite the ease of the process, this technology still has some kinks that could affect people’s body shape, facial features, or even change their ethnicity. And while using an AI-generated photo of yourself may impress and intrigue some people, others associate it with lies and superficiality.
Christian Hammond, a computer science professor at Northwestern University who studies AI, said: “It’s time to acknowledge that we will soon be surrounded by representations of the world that are not real…and they are becoming more and more It will lose its sense of reality.” .
The help desk tested three AI headshot web applications: Aragon.ai, Secta Labs, and Try It On. Although the three providers had different photo requirements, settings, and styles, they had some things in common. Each provider provided at least one professionally appropriate photo that closely resembled the person, and the results they provided ranged from comical to problematic. To borderline attack.
How does the AI headshot tool work?
Users visit the provider’s website, upload a photo, and get results in 20 minutes to a few hours, depending on the service and demand.
Aragon.ai only requires 6 photos of yourself, Try It On requires at least 10 photos, and Secta Labs requires at least 15 photos. The service provides a series of questions and options for users to help the system better understand images. Aragon.ai asks questions such as gender, age group, and ethnicity, while Secta Labs allows you to include comments about preferred outcomes, such as specific facial expressions, background, and clothing. Try It On allows you to choose the specific style of the photo you want to see, whether you want a glamorous shot or a more professional shot.
Once the photo and options are selected and approved by the system, the AI takes over. The technology uses artificial intelligence, part of which was originally built on stable diffusion, but is now a proprietary model. It includes everything you know about different types of people, the options you choose, and the photos you upload. As a result, in the end he gets an image that combines all three.
“Depending on the balance of training data, there will be movement toward a standard,” Hammond said. “They bring an image to what the person actually looks like and what the person is supposed to look like.”
Services range from $21 to $79 and produce between 20 and 200 headshots depending on the package you choose. All images are available for download and, in some cases, can be edited manually or using AI.
Most of the AI’s facial photos resembled the person’s face. And they all offered numerous options featuring different angles, poses, facial expressions, clothing options, backgrounds, and in some cases hairstyles.
Marco Jacques, co-founder of Austin-based Secta Labs, said they use each model applied to different people to produce more realistic results.
“The open source model is biased toward white people,” Jack said. “So one of the important things we ask is gender and ethnicity, because we change the whole process accordingly.”
The Secta Lab AI test showed generally realistic results, but a new model expected to be released later this month is expected to be more accurate. San Francisco-based Aragon.ai is also working on improving facial resemblance and giving users more control over the results.
Altering images is nothing new, but the scale at which people can make changes to images, and the speed and ease with which they can do so, is what makes AI photo generators so transformative. is. Some providers claim their technology is just the next advancement in photography, after digital cameras, editing applications like Adobe Photoshop, social media, smartphones, and photo apps.
“We just made traditional photography available to everyone,” said Wesley Tian, co-founder and CEO of Aragon.ai.
This technology isn’t perfect, so be prepared for strange or even shocking results.
Some people feel uncomfortable with the depictions that are full of humanity. In more extreme cases, the AI photos resembled those seen in mirrors at entertainment venues, with overly exaggerated eyes, shrunken noses, or enlarged foreheads. In other cases, the inaccuracy is subtle.
In our testing, all three providers seemed to have a hard time determining a person’s body shape, since the photos uploaded were only from the shoulders up. Therefore, the results included depictions of people who were thinner, fatter, or taller than they actually were.
There was also freedom in terms of breasts and how much emphasis they wanted on them, especially for women. As a result, clothing choices ranged from high-buttoned shirts to cleavage-revealing tops and low-cut blazers worn bare-chested. She says one of the reasons why women may see more revealing results is because there are more sexualized images of women on the internet, which is why her AI is training her data. may be reflected in. However, it may also be provided intentionally.
“I think there’s a conscious decision to provide something in case you want to go there,” Hammond said.
The AI also struggled with hair types. It was even more difficult for people with long hair or different hairstyles. In some cases, it couldn’t decide whether the results should include short or long hair, updos or downdos, producing strange hybrids.
What is another common problem with AI? Details like fingers, earrings, teeth, and sometimes hands, arms, necks, sleeves, etc. On several occasions, the AI has aged the person by as much as 30 years.
Should you use AI headshots?
AI experts and image providers say AI headshots are becoming more popular. However, there are some things to consider before using it.
First, ask yourself what you’re trying to communicate, and consider what your industry values, says Olivier Toubia, marketing professor at Columbia Business School. For example, headshots are very important for actors, but may not be important for call centers.
AI may offer you an opportunity to show off your creativity, familiarity with technology, or quirky side. But straying too far from reality can lead to increased distrust.
“If you’re the type of person who is willing to completely edit your image and appearance, you may have been lying about your GPA or credentials,” he says. “Maybe you’re showing that you can’t be trusted.”
AI Headshot customers use their photos on their LinkedIn profiles, corporate websites, internal email and chat apps, and even on dating profiles and passport photos, the provider says. However, the State Department says it does not allow digital alteration of passport photos, although it is unclear whether AI-generated photos can be identified. Using an AI profile photo does not violate LinkedIn’s policies as long as it reflects someone’s personality. However, there are systems aimed at detecting and removing accounts that use AI photos in fake profiles.
Josh Drew, a technology recruitment and consulting expert at staffing firm Robert Half, said he doesn’t place much emphasis on AI photos or profile pictures. But if you take a photo, make sure it’s a good photo.
“I would rather see someone move forward and do their best than someone who is unprofessional,” he said. “But ultimately you have to become the person you are trying to represent.”
