Facebook isn’t exactly popping off amongst young people these days. Its desperate pleas to draw you back in with notifications about “friend anniversaries” might work on your auntie, but most millennials have moved onto – the admittedly Facebook-owned – Instagram and Whatsapp. Gen Z, faithful Snapchat disciples, barely ever got started on it.
Still, creator Mark Zuckerberg is committed to his digital baby and is keen for Facebook to be a leader in AI. It was previously reported that the social media giant was using AI and the video game Minecraft to train a “generalist assistant”, and now Facebook has announced that they’re using AI to help you dress better. Yep, Facebook wants to be come your personal Tan France.
Dubbed Fashion++, the idea is that using AI, Facebook will be able to help “inform people’s fashion choices”. The AI will be shown a collection of images that contain “fashionable” outfits that will then give it the knowledge to advise you on your outfit choices. However, rather than go full Extreme Makeover, the AI will recommend that small changes to your outfit, like swapping out trousers for a skirt, rolling up your sleeves or tucking in your shirt. Basically, Facebook isn’t about to read your outfit for filth.
In our minds, the only way we can see this truly working is if Facebook offered you something like Cher’s computerised closet in Clueless. And like Cher, we’d want the clothes already in our closets. If Facebook are willing to do that then perhaps we can talk…
Read the full paper here.