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Victoria’s Secret new partnership with AI technology has critics on edge: People ‘are not fully prepared’

January 25, 2024 | | Print Article

Critics are divided in their response to news of a new artificial technology partnership between Victoria’s Secret and Google Cloud.

“Victoria’s Secret & Co. will leverage Google Cloud’s AI and generative AI technologies to create more personalized and inclusive online shopping experiences for its global customers,” according to a press release.

“Through this partnership, VS&Co will also leverage Google Cloud’s AI technologies to improve customer and associate experiences and drive operational efficiencies within the business,” the press release continues.

What this essentially means is that customers of Victoria’s Secret may soon be able to chat with an AI-powered conversational assistant or bot about their questions and concerns.

“The goal of the conversational chatbot is to provide shoppers with tailored product recommendations and helpful advice based on personal preferences and life experiences – whether a customer is a sports enthusiast, a nursing mother, a breast cancer survivor recovering from a mastectomy, or simply ready for a new bra,” the press release continues.

This sort of technology has a large number of proponents, including Christopher Alexander, the chief analytics officer at Pioneer Development Group.

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“AI assistants are going to be among the most important tech products of 2024,” he said to Fox News. “AI that supports consumers will look at every piece of data available about you and make recommendations on products or services to better customize your experience.”

“This is very similar to how digital advertising has become so effective at anticipating what ad to show you for the most relevant product, only at a completely personalized level. This is an incredibly effective use of AI that will really help people become more comfortable using the technology,” he continued.

Alexander added that he believes customers can “expect to see much more of” these sorts of partnerships in the future.

Bull Moose Project president Aiden Buzzetti agrees.

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“The key benefit of an in-store employee is to guide the preferences of those who visit and try on clothes, which is an experience difficult to replicate over a screen,” he said.

“It makes perfect sense that companies who want to improve customer satisfaction and limit returns online would implement tools to replicate a custom experience. It’s probably one of the more productive and least harmful business uses of AI models at this point in time,” he added.

While all this sounds nice in theory, some critics worry. Take American Principles Project policy director Jon Schweppe, who told Fox News that people “are not fully prepared for what the AI revolution will bring.”

“Chatbots selling lingerie products, personal assistants yelling at you to eat your vegetables, AI-powered cars refusing to allow you to go 60 in a 55 – this is AI’s world now, we’re just living in it,” he said.

Also concerned is Heritage Foundation research associate Jake Denton, who told Fox News that the partnership should “set off alarm bells for anyone concerned about the potential for consumer exploitation.”

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“As Al systems become more sophisticated, brands will gain an unprecedented ability to understand and sway consumer behaviors,” he said. “While most Americans still do not fully grasp how their information is harvested and analyzed in the retail space, integrating Al could expand the power of companies to quietly manipulate purchasing or spending under the guise of personalization.”

A co-founder of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has also warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence — particularly super-intelligent AI.

“Superintelligence will be the most impactful technology humanity has ever invented and could help us solve many of the world’s most important problems,” he wrote last year in a blog post co-written by OpenAI’s head of alignment, Jan Leike.

“But the vast power of superintelligence could also be very dangerous, and could lead to the disempowerment of humanity or even human extinction,” the two added.

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Furthermore, they believe this “superintelligence” could manifest itself within a decade — which is why figuring out ways of “managing these risks” is so important.

Vivek Saxena
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