Top Sydney model agent on the rise of Artificial Intelligence

A top model agent has spoken out about taking on AI as the talent she represents are quickly being replaced by computer generated substitutes.

A top model agent who was instrumental in pushing for inclusivity on the Australian runway is now taking on AI as the talent she represents are quickly being replaced by computer generated substitutes.

Chelsea Bonner is at the fore of addressing artificial intelligence in the modelling industry, which she believes has “very real” ramifications for all Australians.

“It is unbelievably terrifying,” Bonner told The Daily Telegraph.

“We already have an alarming number of eating disorders and body dysmorphia across the country and it has only gotten worse since the invention of social media and that is people comparing themselves against real people. This next level is people comparing their own physical features to a computer generated image, which is perfection. It has no flaws. It has no pimples, no wrinkles or if there are, they are artfully designed.”

Diana Hills, Thomasina Myresa and Chelsea Bonner at Bella Model Management. Chelsea is calling for strict guidelines on the use of AI in the fashion and modelling industry. Picture: Justin Lloyd

There are 10s of billions of AI images in circulation currently and more being created daily.

“By 2025, 90 per cent of all images of human beings will actually be AI rendered images of people who don’t exist,” the daughter of Tony Bonner of Skippy fame said.

“They can be setup online to look like anyone’s daughter, anyone’s mum, and they can be programmed by people from anywhere in the world to say whatever they want them to say.”

It is an issue the broader fashion and modelling industry is very much aware of and comes after last year’s Hollywood actor and writers strike in which they were fighting for better pay, fairer working conditions and contracts that include provisions on artificial intelligence.

Vogue internationally for example has made a commitment to not use AI and to declare when they do. And when used, it would only be with objects, not people.

Bonner, who runs ICON Management, has been lobbying the Australian Government to take action by implementing legislation that would address the misuse of images and videos by AI.

The aim is for clear labelling of AI-generated content to differentiate against human creations and mitigate the spread of misinformation.

Meta, which owns platforms including Facebook and Instagram, recently conducted a global data scrape of all user videos and photographs.

Model agent Chelsea Bonner. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

Running a modelling business too, Bonner has to factor in the future of an industry where humans are being replaced rapidly by AI.

This, she said, will cost billions to the broader economy in taxes, superannuation, wages and more.

“The premise of the modelling and talent industry, the entertainment industry in general, is that someone believes enough in the product to personally endorse it, otherwise they wouldn’t do it,” she said.

“There is no personal endorsement behind using an AI-rendered person. They’ve never tried the product, they can’t wear clothes, they can’t wear foundation or lipstick or any of these things in order to test the quality or ethics of the business before they choose to participate in advertising the brand. That is a moral question – do we want to purchase items from bodies that can never wear a dress or wear makeup.”

Yvie Jones and Chelsea Bonner. Pic: Liz Sunshine

Chelsea Bonner.

In addition to working with industry bodies and the government, Bonner has been working on software that is trained to learn only from the data that is put into it. This would protect artists and talent by ensuring they are fairly paid.

“The only way forward that I can see is to harness the technology in a way that it can be used ethically,” she said.

“Everybody who inputs their data, whether you are a model or a photographer or whatever it is you do, maintains ownership of that so they get paid every time a client uses it. So the client can still use generative AI as they are going to because it is so much cheaper than doing a real photo shoot but they can at least use it in an ethical way where those people still get paid for their work.”