AI has already demonstrated an ability to turn our perception of the world on its head. Now, in an odd confluence of events, both Paris Fashion Week and the Geneva International Motor Show are occurring at virtually the same time, but it just might be that that the most inspiring automotive design ideas arrive courtesy of the former rather than the latter.
Granted, the AI-inspired auto designs contain more than a bit of whimsy, In fact, the source is a British company called Select Car Leasing which used the AI platform Midjourney to develop its ideas on wheels, incorporating the color schemes of well-known fashion houses. Nevertheless, car enthusiasts might just find that the fashionable car concepts inspired by Paris Fashion Week (Feb.26-March 5) may generate a stronger love/hate reaction than those cars appearing at the Geneva Motor Show (Feb. 26-March 3).
The Geneva Show, once a heralded international event, now only has eight automotive brands in attendance, with major European and Japanese marques largely absent. A linked annual automotive event in Qatar draws more participants, putting the future of the major auto shows in Europe in doubt, a question that also has been raised in North America..
Both industries, of course, are coming to grips with AI. Among the fashionistas, last year’s debut of the Humane AI pin on runway models proved to be so much fast fashion, but this year AI is firmly operating behind the scenes. As reported by the fashion publication Just Style, an oft-cited McKinsey study reveals that while 37% of AI usage remains experimental, 34% is already dedicated to marketing, 13% to supply chain and logistics and 25% to digital shopping and customer experience.
Generative AI is making online shopping easier for customers using natural language searches and customers’ own photos for sizing, eliminating the need for 3D modeling in virtual try-ons. But like writers and actors, models are increasingly worried about the unauthorized use of their images with pending Fashion Workers Act legislation in New York State stipulating consent to the use of model likeness for AI use.
In the automotive world, AI links to driver assist features are trending but AI has yet to become the anticipated engine of autonomous driving, with several highly-publicized setbacks occurring in practice.
Back in the real world, a rather prosaic Renault Scenic E-Tech, an electric family SUV, was named car of the year in Geneva. With all due respect to Renault, most people might aspire to be seen in a Chanel, Gucci, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Prada or Valentino automobile. (Maybe not so much in the Burberry, Versace, Fendi or the Mui Mui, though.) Â A dream car may now be one that AI imagines.
