The Met Used AI For Their New Costume Institute Exhibition And I’m Not Sure How I Feel About It.
breakdown:
How did they use AI? Was it in a capacity where they could have used human digital artists? The wording on the website makes it sound like they used both- whether anyone was put out of a potential job by it has a huge impact on how I feel about it. But that’s not disclosed online
“We used AI and CGI to demonstrate how these fragile garments would move on a body!” you all will do ANYTHING but talk to real people who have lived experience of wearing similar clothing- many of whom are also museum professionals and historians! Historical Costumer and History Worker are not mutually exclusive! friendly reminder that Abby Cox and Nicole Rudolph and Cheyney McKnight and many others all work or have worked in this field professionally beyond the YouTube space, to say nothing of people like Ruth Goodman who do experiential archaeology fully outside of social media! -won’t you
like geez. I’d rather have a video of Nicole Rudolph spinning in a Worth replica you paid her to make and demonstrate than an AI holograph, personally
Any incursion of AI into the museum-space worries me deeply even though AI can’t do my jobs within the field…for now. If we don’t stand up for those first affected, we will all fall eventually, I feel. Even nonprofits aren’t immune to cost-cutting measures, especially those that run on a shoestring budget as most of our orgs do.
I searched through the official brochure for the Sleeping Beauties exhibit and it looks like the AI element was limited to only one of the dresses. The brochure prompts the visitor to converse (via AI) with Natalie Potter, whose wedding ensemble is one of the items in the exhibit to learn more about her and her garments.
This “conversation” would have been a chonk of text in a brochure or on a sign, so it’s not quite replacing someone’s job levels, and seems more like an experiment in how AI can be used in museum interpretation.
holy shit that’s so fucked up. not replacing a job yet, but still
like. they’re literally putting words in a real dead woman’s mouth using a computer
and yeah a human first-person interpreter is a similar thing but like…humans can think critically about Mrs. Potter and her sociocultural context way more than a machine can. humans can approach her and her life with far more understanding and nuanced consideration than a machine can. not every interpreter would, and both systems still bring the biases of the interpreter or the programmers to the table (as all historical interpretation does), but a good human interpreter could still do this job far better than an unfeeling machine
Maybe they set up parameters so it just generates responses about the wedding and clothing? I really, really hope that’s the case, at least.
(Also- it’s replacing a single chonk of text today. It could be used to replace ALL exhibit text in the future if we’re not careful, and that is someone’s job. or a significant part of it)
Okay but imagine how funny it will be when she brings up her elven boyfriend.
The Met Used AI For Their New Costume Institute Exhibition And I’m Not Sure How I Feel About It.
breakdown:
How did they use AI? Was it in a capacity where they could have used human digital artists? The wording on the website makes it sound like they used both- whether anyone was put out of a potential job by it has a huge impact on how I feel about it. But that’s not disclosed online
“We used AI and CGI to demonstrate how these fragile garments would move on a body!” you all will do ANYTHING but talk to real people who have lived experience of wearing similar clothing- many of whom are also museum professionals and historians! Historical Costumer and History Worker are not mutually exclusive! friendly reminder that Abby Cox and Nicole Rudolph and Cheyney McKnight and many others all work or have worked in this field professionally beyond the YouTube space, to say nothing of people like Ruth Goodman who do experiential archaeology fully outside of social media! -won’t you
like geez. I’d rather have a video of Nicole Rudolph spinning in a Worth replica you paid her to make and demonstrate than an AI holograph, personally
Any incursion of AI into the museum-space worries me deeply even though AI can’t do my jobs within the field…for now. If we don’t stand up for those first affected, we will all fall eventually, I feel. Even nonprofits aren’t immune to cost-cutting measures, especially those that run on a shoestring budget as most of our orgs do.
Huey is wearing a plain black tuxedo tonight but we’ll forgive him because he’s so handsome.
All right, I’ve got to bring Keaton in on this action, with his fashionable rusty brown tuxedo.
exceptional!
Yes, Luke is wearing a black tux, but he still made an effort to be on theme by going to my garden and rolling around in the dirt, integrating that into his little dandy outfit
It gives him a slightly off white shade that breaks the boredom of an otherwise traditional look, without going so far as turning that awful shade of beige that dominated last night for some reason
I think it’s a simple but effective touch added to an elegant outfit that makes it perfect for special occasions, such as the Met Gala or rolling around on my freshly washed sheets
Huey is wearing a plain black tuxedo tonight but we’ll forgive him because he’s so handsome.
All right, I’ve got to bring Keaton in on this action, with his fashionable rusty brown tuxedo.
exceptional!
Yes, Luke is wearing a black tux, but he still made an effort to be on theme by going to my garden and rolling around in the dirt, integrating that into his little dandy outfit
It gives him a slightly off white shade that breaks the boredom of an otherwise traditional look, without going so far as turning that awful shade of beige that dominated last night for some reason
I think it’s a simple but effective touch added to an elegant outfit that makes it perfect for special occasions, such as the Met Gala or rolling around on my freshly washed sheets
Huey is wearing a plain black tuxedo tonight but we’ll forgive him because he’s so handsome.
All right, I’ve got to bring Keaton in on this action, with his fashionable rusty brown tuxedo.
exceptional!
Yes, Luke is wearing a black tux, but he still made an effort to be on theme by going to my garden and rolling around in the dirt, integrating that into his little dandy outfit
It gives him a slightly off white shade that breaks the boredom of an otherwise traditional look, without going so far as turning that awful shade of beige that dominated last night for some reason
I think it’s a simple but effective touch added to an elegant outfit that makes it perfect for special occasions, such as the Met Gala or rolling around on my freshly washed sheets
