My series Shapeshifter was featured in an exhibit by Decentraland during their Meta Fashion Week. I also participated in an interview with them regarding AI and its use throughout my creative process. Interviews are somewhat new to me; I’ve had many offers over the years, but I usually decline them. However, I’ve decided to be more open to them now because I feel that my voice and experience can contribute to certain conversations. AI is one such topic. Below is the full interview, along with some images from Shapeshifter and the exhibition.

Decentraland AI Fashion Exibit

What are the aspects of AI that excite you and the ones that trouble you, now and going forward?

Artificial Intelligence offers much to be excited about, especially for someone like me who’s both a software engineer and multimedia artist. I can leverage AI tools to unify my practice on both sides, pushing beyond real-world limitations like capital and resources to bring my creative ideas to life. 

Yet, I remain skeptical when capitalism is the driving force behind new technology. In an ideal society, AI could be a tremendous boon for humanity. People would have their personal AI to assist with daily tasks and work, leaving ample time for living, pursuing passions, and enjoying life’s simple pleasures. 

Unfortunately, our current society equates individual worth with contributions to capitalism’s machine. This mentality leads to fear and resistance towards AI, as seen in the artistic community’s Anti-AI movement. While there are valid concerns, such as ethical issues surrounding the unauthorized use of artists’ work for AI training, the crux of the problem lies with rampant capitalism. I don’t mean to sound defeatist, but we cannot halt technological advancement. If we could, the internet, photography, and the combustion engine would not exist. Even if access to AI-generated art were restricted for the masses, corporations would retain access to their internal models, potentially replacing creatives to cut costs. Capitalism tends to win in these situations. 

Instead, we should focus on reshaping society to ensure that those negatively impacted by AI’s proliferation aren’t left behind. I advocate for more people pressuring governments to create social safety nets for vulnerable populations. Increased calls for Universal Basic Income programs, especially for those whose livelihoods are threatened by capitalism’s exploitation of AI, are crucial. Additionally, investing in traditional arts and crafts through grants and art patronage, as well as supporting artists by purchasing their work, can help counterbalance AI’s impact. 

By taking these actions, we can work towards a society where everyone benefits from AI advancements, rather than being devoured and discarded by capitalism.

What kind of new opportunities, doors, possibilities is this new technology opening up for you and for the creative industry in general?

Strangely enough, the emergence of AI based on Diffusion models coincided with me shifting away from being viewed primarily as a photographer. I had already started exploring traditional painting again and found my way into sculpting. Next, I was seeking to fully incorporate my software engineering expertise into my artistic practice. I started by capturing random snapshots of flowers on my daily walks. Then I use a few software based on mathematical calculations to transform those flower snapshots into images and videos of spaceships and other odd creations. 

Then I discovered Disco Diffusion, which I believe is the one AI tool that truly heralded the new wave of AI art. Disco Diffusion enabled me to generate artworks using my own photography and digital arts, which I then used as reference material for real-life paintings. This process unlocked a potential I didn’t think was attainable so soon. As an artist, one of my ultimate goals has always been to plant numerous seeds through exploration, allowing them to grow and form a self-sustaining ecosystem capable of producing new work. AI is now making this possible without the need to be a wealthy artist hiring multiple assistants or interns to handle the less glamorous tasks, a common practice among other artists.

How do you include AI in your creative process?

AI is integrated into different facets of my creative workflow. Right now, it’s essentially serving as the connective tissue to my studio practice. From the initial stage of a project, I might use it (ChatGPT) to brainstorm ideas, a process that would previously involve out-loud conversations with myself to refine my thoughts. With ChatGPT, I can now achieve the same result without seeming odd to people around me for talking to myself. If further refinement or human feedback is needed, I can collaborate with a creative friend on that. 

 AI can also contribute to the final product. For my Shapeshifter project, I conducted photoshoots with models and captured images of them as I would do for any production that doesn’t involve AI. I then fine-tuned several diffusion models with the (human) model’s likeness which I use to create the final image along with Photoshop. 

 As I’m typing this answer, I’m celebrating a significant milestone with a project I’ve been working on for almost a year now. I have been developing a program using P5.js, a Javascript-based library, to generate art that I can use as both standalone pieces and as a foundation for future work. I started this project prior to the release of ChatGPT. I spent several months on it, mainly because I was also brushing up on my Javascript while learning how to leverage using a new library. I eventually released the project on my website as Abstract Language, version 5 without being fully satisfied with it. I just wanted to plant the seed. I finally took a shot at using ChatGPT’s assistance with it after OpenAI released ChatGPT-4. In the span of just 3 days, I rewrote the entire code for the program through several iterations and will soon release a version that I’m thoroughly satisfied with. It now stands as one of my greatest achievements, enabling me to realize my creative vision fully. 

Shapeshifter

Do you think fashion will be greatly impacted by the AI revolution? How?

The ongoing AI revolution bears similarities to the advent of the internet, possessing the potential to impact every industry and aspect of life. In the fashion industry, one immediate application comes to mind: sourcing inspiration. Over the years, we’ve seen the industry recycle so many old ideas as if they’ve exhausted their creativity. AI can help anyone synthesize and brainstorm fresh concepts. A fashion designer with a vast archive can easily fine-tune a model using images of their garments to generate new ideas for an upcoming collection. Similarly, a new designer can source inspiration from outside the fashion world, fine-tune a model based on that, and develop innovative ideas to incorporate into the garment-making process. The possibilities are endless for those who know how to navigate the latent space.

Shapeshifter

Can you tell us something on the pieces we included in the exhibit?

The pieces included in the exhibit are part of my Shapeshifter series, a project inspired by the desire to see more representation of people like me in Sci-Fi and fantasy. I remember creating the first few images from the series using my girlfriend’s likeness following a conversation about one of our favorite designers, Iris van Herpen. To me, her designs embody what people would wear in a utopian future marked by clean air, the absence of poverty, and an incredible quality of life. Looking at Iris’s shows, it seems like she always takes diversity into consideration when it comes to the models walking down the catwalk in her otherworldly garments. However, within the editorial fashion scene, her clothing is predominantly featured on white models. After our discussion, I began creating AI images of Black models wearing clothes inspired by Iris van Herpen’s designs. The project eventually evolved into exploring what we might wear in a distant future on a planet requiring adaptation for survival, inspired by shows like Raised by Wolves and Foundation. While the project has strayed from its initial fantasy, it remains grounded in its core principle: introducing more Black representation into Sci-Fi and Fantasy.