The pace of development of artificial intelligence technologies is so fast that it is difficult to keep up with everything. At Google I/O in MayGoogle has introduced an AI-powered shopping feature that lets you virtually try on clothes you find online. All you had to do was upload a full-length photo of yourself and Google's AI would dress you in any item of clothing you liked. I still can't decide if this feature sounds useful, creepy, or both.
Google's virtual try-on feature only requires a selfie to work
However, I can say that this feature gets a little creepy. On Thursday Google announced updated virtual try-on feature that takes advantage of the new AI image model, Nano Banana. Now you don't need a full-length photo: just a selfie. With just a photo of your face, Nano Banana will create a life-size avatar in your likeness that you can use to virtually try on your clothes.
I'm not entirely sure who this particular update is for: there may be some of us who want to use this virtual try-on feature but don't have a full-length photo of ourselves to share. Personally, I wouldn't want to send Google a photo of myself—selfie or otherwise—but I don't think I'd prefer Google to make inferences about what I look like based solely on a photo of my face. I'd rather just send him the full photo and give him something to work on.
Here's another problem: although Google only asks you to upload your own images, it doesn't stop you if you upload someone else's image. Talk about creepy: you can upload someone else's selfie and see what it looks like. They look in different clothes. There is a system that prevents you from uploading certain selfies, such as celebrities, children, or other “unsafe” items, but if the system fails, this feature can be used maliciously. I think Google could get around this issue by matching the selfie with your Google account, since you need to be signed in to use this feature anyway.
What are your thoughts so far?
How to upload a selfie to Google's virtual try-on feature
If you want to try out this feature and then try on virtual clothes on your AI-generated avatar, you can go to Google is trying out the featureSign in to your Google account and upload your selfie. During processing, you choose one of four avatars, each wearing a different uniform, to proceed. After going through it, you will be able to virtually try on any clothes you see in the feed.
Again, I can see the potential usefulness of a feature that allows you to see what you'd look like in a certain item of clothing before you buy it. But at the same time, I think I'd rather just order this thing and try it on in the comfort of my home (and in privacy).
