How AI Is Transforming Beauty
The rise of artificial intelligence used to be the topic of major Hollywood movies – these days, it’s simply our daily reality. Countless experts have penned expansive columns exploring the diverse ways that AI is upsetting a number of industries, yet relatively few consumers have spared the time to think about how AI is transforming beauty. As they often say, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” but as time goes on, we’ll increasingly see algorithmically-determined beauty becoming a more and more ingrained facet of our lives.
Here’s a review of how AI is transforming beauty, and what other innovations are changing the world of fashion, too.
Say hello to skin sensors
One of the most interesting innovations to have hit the marketplace recently is AI-driven skin sensors which provide you with beauty advice. Many people like to think that they know what’s best for their own skin, but medical experts will tell you that many common beliefs are actually harmful for your long-term skincare. With the proliferation of AI-powered skin sensors, we’ll see more people beautifying their skin like never before.
According to one report, the Swedish company FOREO has released an AI product which, through machine learning, has already developed hundreds of years’ worth of intelligence.
This device scans the skin of users to determine what skincare routine they should follow if they want to look great when they go out. In addition to skincare routines, it may also suggest other treatments such as defying age with anti-wrinkle injections, to help the user achieve their desired look.
We should expect skincare apps and other AI-powered apps to take over the world of beauty products sooner rather than later.
Other technologies also promise to change how we understand beauty. Augmented reality, for instance, is popularly known as the little brother of the more popularly understood virtual reality. As time goes on, we’ll likely see the hype for VR die out precisely at the same time that consumers and companies get more serious about AR, which has more commercial applications than its virtual counterpart. Forbes recently released a fascinating report into how AR will change the future of the beauty industry, and some companies are already letting customers virtually try out clothing from afar with the help of AR technology.
The focus is on AI
Despite the promise of other forthcoming technologies like AR, the focus will be on AI, and for good reasons. AI is taking an industry worth well over $500 billion dollars and is fundamentally reshaping it from the top down. Companies now make marketing decisions which are algorithmically-determined, and consumers rely on search engine recommendations when scooping up products like Avant Permanent Cosmetics. While some customers are uncomfortable with the idea of following the recommendations of a robot, most AI operations are so subtle that few consumers even know they’re interacting with algorithms as they shop.
If sci-fi movies are to be believed, the future will be defined by quixotic fashion trends that always push the envelope further. More realistically, fashion will be defined by a mix of human desires and human innovations like AI, which help us make better decisions regardless of whether we’re consumers or companies.
