What you see is what you get, says the adage, but nowadays things are more complicated than that. Filters on social media deceive us and retouched images show us models and celebrities flaunting flawlessly perfect skin and bodies across the Internet and in print publications.
The disillusionment often extends beyond manipulated visuals to online shopping: as consumers we may see an item we like, order it and then receive something completely different.
This often happens with ultra-fast retailers that sometimes post on their sites or apps a flawless product (likely a sample of the actual product), but, upon delivery, we realize it was a scam as the item has rather bizarre proportions (quite often it is tiny) or simply lacks the anticipated beauty and craftsmanship we thought it had.
At the moment there is a relatively new practice: posting images of items that look pretty good and affordable, but that actually do not exist. Basically, you see them, you make your purchase and then you receive an infinitely cheaper version of what you ordered.
This is the scheme of ultra-fast fashion retailers, yes, but there is a twist in this new version of the scam: the images of the items that do not exist are usually generated by Artificial Intelligence.
One of the retailers that have been using this tactic is ccmom.cc, specializing in children’s clothes or matching family outfits. Among the designs that attracted numerous consumers there are some eye-catching pieces, such as a colorful jumper with clusters of cute one or triple-eyed monsters, a quilted bomber jacket with a motif of clouds in kawaii pastel shades, another bomber with a motif calling to mind Van Gogh's Starry Night and a jumper with a three-dimensional tiger that seems to jump out from the garment.
The clothes look perfectly fine and wearable, and they are also very affordable (less than $30). However, the reality for some unlucky buyers deviated significantly from the enticing images.
According to reviews posted online, the bomber didn't feature any motifs of quilted clouds, and wasn't even a bomber, but a light rain jacket with a colorful yet flat and very basic print.
The tiger sweater didn't feature any three-dimensional motif but only a flat intarsia image of a tiger; the same trick was used for the cotton dungarees with three-dimensional blooming flowers and butterflies, in this case, though, rather than printing the motifs directly on the garment, they printed and appliqued them individually on the design.
A post on the Midjourney subreddit a few months ago explained the mystery: the images of those items and of others as well were created using Artificial Intelligence.
Indeed, Midjourney effortlessly produces monster knits with quirky features, occasionally going overboard with extra eyes and bumpy faces. Even without using the word "monster" in the prompt, combining terms like "kawaii", "stuffed animals", "toys", and "fun moods" generates maybe more chaotic, but very similar designs that with the due variations and changes on the platform can become the eye-catching colorful jumper on ccmom.cc.
The bomber with the Starry Night motif could almost be considered as a typical AI design: in the early days of text-to-image software, many prompt engineers or tech experts explained in online video and articles, how to use these systems employing Van Gogh’s painting as example (in prompts with the moniker "in the style of Van Gogh's Starry Night").
AI's ability to create designs like the bomber with quilted clouds relies on prompts with keywords like "kawaii", "pastel", and "cute" (as proved by image 12 in this post).
Interestingly enough, this practice isn't limited to dubious retailers; some artists use AI-generated images of non-existent pieces, posting them on Instagram without explicitly disclosing the involvement of AI. If orders materialize, they seek collaborators or companies to manufacture these pieces.
While consumers who ordered children's clothes and received low quality outfits posted reviews online, the absence of reviews from wealthy collectors poses a challenge in establishing if these pieces are really high quality as they look. In some cases, the artwork incorporates famous copyrighted characters such as Bart Simpson, Batman or Darth Vader, So, even if the pieces are actually good quality, they may pose some legal issues.
The use of AI generated images to sell poorly made garments makes you wander how this practice will evolve. Will we see established fashion brands or houses doing the same, and maybe generating an image of an exclusive item designer by AI and making the said item only after receiving orders (Demna Gvasalia at Balenciaga, maybe?), after all, the designs generated using Midjourney by ccmom.com could still be produced as they are not really experimental and bizarre designs of the sort that only Artificial Intelligence may produce (in which case they would obviously be more expensive for the materials and techniques employed to make them).
Yet, considering the recent French law regulating influencers, questions arise about whether there should be legislation overseeing the use of Artificial Intelligence and protecting customers in such cases. While encountering counterfeit items online is not new, the sophistication and complexity introduced by AI necessitate heightened caution.
In the absence of specific laws, we as consumers should always check for reviews of sites and products, compare prices on different platforms, scrutinize sellers' details, and refrain from impulsive purchases.
In the event of a mismatch between the ordered and received item, writing online reviews, lodging complaints, and seeking refunds may contribute to safeguarding us all. In a nutshell, let's stay vigilant, employ critical thinking, and embrace skepticism to identify sites using AI-generated images to sell low quality products.
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