It's a photo of you, but does it capture your true essence?
Miaoya Camera, a popular AI algorithm program, displays on its official Weibo site some portraits it generated from photos (shown in circles) submitted by customers.
Among the professionals finding their specialties compromised by the expansion of artificial intelligence are portrait photographers. Whether their anxiety is well-founded remains to be seen amid a new pop trend.
The potential threat comes from AI algorithm programs like Miaoya Camera.
It's a mini-program developed by the video platform Youku that allows users to produce good, low-cost portraits. The app has taken the online market – especially the younger generation – by storm since its release this month.
Users upload 20 of their own pictures to the program and spend 9.9 yuan (US$1.38) to have a "digital clone" created. Based on the clone, pictures can be generated based on any of 39 graphic templates provided by the program. They include identification pictures and portraits in vintage Chinese dress or in evening gowns.
"The pictures generated are like old wedding pictures – they are not really you but they look like you," said Maple Shi, a white-collar worker. "In the pictures, you appear in heavier makeup than you might usually wear, and many layers of filters are added. It's a good tool to satisfy my vanity."
The program is so popular that users need to wait for three or four hours to get their prints, amid a queue of thousands of people waiting for their results.
Some users say they believe that Miaoya could completely replace the popular photo style developed by Himo Photo Studio.
"Himo-style" photos refer to high-resolution, expertly made photos that may be used for identification, family portraits or weddings. Before customers sit before the camera, staff provide apparel and makeup, along with a chat session if needed for those who need to relax more in front of the lens. Of course, the photos are retouched before being printed.
It has become routine for many jobseekers to attach a Himo-style photo on their resumes to try to make the best impression on potential employers.
"Now, with Miaoya, you can adjust the background of the photos and tell the program to render a portrait more true to life for use in less formal occasions," Shi said.
But take a closer look.
"At first sight, the Miaoya pictures look great," said Yu Tong, a college student. "When I shared the pictures online, my friends thought I had gone to a professional photo studio. But if you scrutinize the details, you will discover that the photos aren't quite accurate. Eyes and hands can look a bit unnatural. And since there are now only 39 templates, the angles, expressions and composition of the pictures tend to reveal the source."
Some of the pictures Yu Tong provided to create her "digital clone" in Miaoya.
AI pictures Miaoya generated based on the 20 pictures Yu Tong fed it.
In fact, some users complain that they were dissatisfied with the pictures generated but were refused a refund from the program. The Shanghai Consumers Council has accused Miaoya of violating fair trade practices.
The application issued a statement, explained that its service charge is based on an AI algorithm, and once the pictures are generated – no matter if it's what users want or not – the service is completed.
Miaoya is not the only application providing AI photo-generation services.
Other applications, such as 45 AI and South Korea-based B612, are also becoming popular, though many would argue they are not quite up to the Miaoya standard yet.
"The photos generated by 45 AI are a bit like Barbie dolls, so it's just for fun, and it is the only app of its kind that I've found that allows you to delete your data," said Yu. "B612, on the other hand, doesn't deliver good cost benefit."
Ye Zanghua, a Hangzhou-based photographer who specializes in portrait photography, said she believes that Miaoya and its counterparts are just passing fancies.
"The major problem is that portraits generated by AI are not lifelike, which is vital to portrait photography," she said. "The portraits have almost the same expressions in their eyes. They lacking vitality."
Ye said she doesn't worry that one day she will be replaced by AI.
"What we do in the studio is to capture a very real moment of a real person, and AI can never do that," she said. "I believe people will soon get bored by these 'dead' pictures."
Like other AI picture generators, Miaoya has raised concerns about user data protection.
Initially, Miaoya's user agreement said that the program could freely use the uploaded pictures for any purpose on any medium, including the metaverse.
The agreement provoked such controversy that Miaoya later backtracked and stipulated that the pictures would be used only to create users' digital clones and the pictures would be deleted once the clone is completed.
Legal experts said that a law on AI generation, due to come into effect on August 15, prohibits AI modes from being "trained" with data enjoying intellectual property rights, and requires AI developers to protect personal data and not store or transfer it illegally.
The law, however, doesn't include detailed penalties for violators.
"We can expect that property rights holders will claim their rights once an AI mode uses their data for some commercial purpose," said Liu Chunquan, an intellectual property rights lawyer. "I believe that the validity of data used to train AI modes is a problem that will be solved eventually."
(Yu Tong also contributed to the story.)
