The Epik AI Yearbook Trend Taking Over Social Media
Summary
TLDRThe AI-powered app Epic has taken social media by storm, transforming users' photos into '90s yearbook-style images. This trend not only raises questions about privacy and data usage but also reflects societal attitudes towards self-perception and authenticity. The app's success, following similar trends with Lensa and Remini, highlights the lucrative potential of AI in the selfie era and the ethical considerations surrounding image manipulation and AI-generated content. The phenomenon also underscores the broader implications of AI adoption in everyday life, as millions engage with the technology through a simple, social trend.
Takeaways
- 📸 The trend of AI-generated yearbook photos from the Epic app has gone viral on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter.
- 💡 This trend highlights the intersection of AI technology with societal issues such as privacy, data usage, and self-perception.
- 🤔 The success of the Epic app raises questions about the future of personal identity and how AI can reshape our understanding of ourselves.
- 💸 Despite charging for the service, the app's popularity has led to significant revenue, indicating a willingness among consumers to pay for AI-driven personal experiences.
- 💰 The profitability of AI selfie apps like Epic, Lensa, and Remini demonstrates the potential for leveraging AI to create viral, shareable content that generates income.
- 🧠 The use of AI in creating images brings up ethical considerations about authenticity, memory, and the long-term implications of digital representation.
- 🌐 The popularity of AI apps like Chat GPT and Lensa indicates a growing public interest in and acceptance of AI technology.
- 📈 The rapid rise and success of these AI apps suggest a pattern of consumer behavior and societal trends that can be leveraged for future technological innovations.
- 🚨 Controversies surrounding AI image generation tools, such as concerns over body editing and the use of AI to create 'deepfakes', reflect broader societal norms and expectations.
- 📝 The use of AI in personal image creation has implications for privacy and data security, with questions about how data is stored and used.
- 🌟 The adoption of AI through social trends may represent a new phase in public engagement with technology, where personalization and social sharing are key drivers.
Q & A
What is the main feature of the Epic app mentioned in the transcript?
-The main feature of the Epic app is that it takes users' photos and transforms them into 1990s yearbook-style images.
What are some of the societal and ethical questions raised by the use of AI in creating yearbook photos?
-The use of AI in creating yearbook photos raises questions about privacy, data usage, self-perception, authenticity, memory, and the ethics of image manipulation. It also brings up concerns about the line between enhancement and fabrication in personal image representation.
How has the Epic app performed in terms of revenue and popularity?
-The Epic app has become highly lucrative, making around a million dollars per day through in-app purchases and has become the number one app in the US app store across all categories.
What is the significance of the timing of the Epic app's popularity in relation to other AI trends?
-The timing of the Epic app's popularity is significant as it follows a pattern observed with other AI-powered apps like Chat GPT and Lensa, suggesting a recurring interest in AI technologies and their integration into social media trends.
What concerns have been raised about the portrayal of women in AI image generation apps?
-There have been concerns that AI image generation apps may produce overly sexualized images of women, contributing to unrealistic body expectations and potentially exacerbating issues like body dysmorphia and poor self-esteem.
How does the use of AI in image generation intersect with discussions about deepfake technology and policy?
-The use of AI in image generation brings up questions about the regulation of deepfake technology, especially in the context of personal privacy, consent, and the potential for misuse in political and social contexts.
What is the role of AI in shaping our relationship with our own representations?
-AI is changing our relationship with our representations by providing us with new technologies that allow us to reimagine and alter our images in ways that were not previously possible, leading to shifts in how we perceive and present ourselves.
How might the Hollywood strikes and usage rights be impacted by AI-generated images?
-AI-generated images could potentially conflict with Hollywood strikes and usage rights, as celebrities using these apps may inadvertently sign away their likenesses for future use, undermining the negotiations they have with studios.
What are the implications of AI adoption through social media trends for the general public?
-The adoption of AI through social media trends suggests that many people's first interactions with AI are based on simple, social-minded use cases, which could influence their perceptions and understanding of AI technologies.
What broader societal norms and ideals are intersecting with technology through AI image generation?
-AI image generation intersects with societal norms and ideals such as beauty standards, body image, and self-perception, potentially exacerbating existing issues and prompting discussions about the role of technology in shaping these ideals.
How might the yearbook trend influence the future development and use of AI in social media?
-The yearbook trend, while potentially temporary, provides insights into how AI can be integrated into social media in a way that resonates with users, suggesting that future AI applications may continue to focus on user-centric, visually engaging experiences.
Outlines
🤖 AI Yearbook Photos Trend and its Implications
The first paragraph discusses the AI yearbook photo trend powered by the Epic app, which has taken social media by storm. It highlights the app's ability to transform users' photos into 1990s-style yearbook images, raising questions about privacy, data usage, and self-perception. The trend's profitability is noted, with the app earning significant revenue from in-app purchases. The segment also touches on the broader societal impact, including the ethics of image manipulation and the changing relationship with personal representation through technology. The trend is linked to a pattern of AI-powered apps, suggesting a deeper societal and technological shift.
💰 The Business and Controversy Behind AI Photo Apps
The second paragraph delves into the business aspect of AI photo apps, particularly the Lensa app, which has a history of controversy. It discusses the financial success of these apps, with Lensa reportedly earning over $70 million during its peak. The paragraph also explores the challenges faced by these apps, including claims of body dysmorphia and the potential infringement on user rights. The discussion extends to the political implications of AI-generated images, with concerns about deepfake policies and the impact on elections. The paragraph concludes by reflecting on the role of these apps in introducing AI to the public through social media trends.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡AI yearbook photos
💡Social media
💡Privacy
💡Data usage
💡Self-perception
💡Deep fake policy
💡Narcissism
💡Authenticity
💡Ethics of image manipulation
💡Generative AI
💡AI adoption
Highlights
Epic's AI yearbook photos are taking over social media, raising questions about the state of AI and society.
The trend involves an app that turns user-uploaded photos into 1990s-style yearbook photos, sparking discussions on privacy and data usage.
The app's success, becoming the number one app in the US, indicates a willingness among consumers to pay for AI-generated self-images.
Venture investor Justine Moore suggests that AI selfie apps capitalize on human narcissism, creating a lucrative market.
Professor Shelley Palmer notes the blend of nostalgia and cutting-edge technology in the AI yearbook trend, but raises questions about authenticity and memory.
The trend also brings up ethical concerns about image manipulation and where the line should be drawn between enhancement and fabrication.
The AI yearbook trend is part of a pattern of AI-powered apps that gained popularity, following the launch of chat GPT last year.
The Lensa app, another AI image generation app, faced controversy over sexualized images and allegations of ripping off digital artists' work.
Rini, an AI avatar app, went viral by turning selfies into professional headshots, but faced criticism for unrealistic body editing.
The yearbook trend raises questions about the implications of AI in Hollywood strikes and the use of likenesses for future content.
Privacy concerns are highlighted as the app claims to delete photos immediately, but questions remain about data storage and future recognition.
The political dimension involves concerns from politicians about deepfakes, especially in the context of upcoming elections.
AI adoption through social trends allows for a large number of people to interact with AI technology in a simple, social context.
The AI yearbook trend, while possibly short-lived, offers lessons about the current state of AI and societal attitudes towards technology.
The success of AI-driven apps shows the potential for technology to go viral based on single-use cases that are designed with social media in mind.
Transcripts
epic's AI yearbook photos are absolutely
taking over social media today we're
exploring what it says about the state
of AI as well as what it says about the
state of society welcome back to the AI
breakdown today we are talking nominally
about a trend that has taken over Tik
Tok and Instagram and Twitter and
basically all of social media which is a
new feature from an app called epic that
takes people's photos and turns them
into 1990s yearbook photos now there is
a ton that makes this interesting to me
it brings up questions of privacy and
data usage I think it has things to
teach us about how people try and get
onboarded to artificial intelligence it
brings up questions about the future of
self-perception and it even relates to
deep fake policy so let's talk about
what the actual trend is and then we're
going to look at why it's part of an
interesting pattern that goes back to
last year right around the same time
that chat GPT launched so what is this
trend well basically it is one of these
apps where you upload head-on images
give it a little bit of information in
this case things like gender and then
sit back back and basically let it do
its work the app turns those photos and
makes the user both younger as well as
putting them in a set of clothes and
setups that look like a number of
different '90s high schooler archetypes
there's the jock the cheerleader the
nerd now interestingly this is not a
free experience people have to pay for
these photos and yet still it has become
the number one app in the US app store
across all categories investor Olivia
Moore points out that this is extremely
lucrative over the past week the company
has been making around a quar million
dollars per day via inapp purchases and
that's likely going to do nothing but
increase as people share this trend more
and more media like this reports on it
now Olivia's interpretation is that
quote consumers are willing to pay for
multiple apps and post the results even
if it's cringey allowing people to
reimagine themselves triggers something
powerful now some think that a better
word for this is narcissism another
venture investor Justine Moore says
never bet against narcissism AI selfie
apps like lenza Remini and now epic have
proved that you can print millions of
dollars in a week by helping people make
images of themselves and they're
inherently viral because everyone shares
the outputs now this self-imagination is
really fascinating Professor Shelley
Palmer writes the rise of Epic has
spotlighted a curious Trend students
opting for generative AI images in their
school yearbooks at face value it's a
novel application of Technology blending
Nostalgia with The Cutting Edge but it
raises questions about authenticity
memory and our posterity imagine future
Generations flipping through old
yearbooks look here's an old-fashioned
generative AI image of Grandpa in high
school gee I wonder what he really
looked like at that age it's a statement
that sounds almost real the trend also
raises broader questions about the
ethics of image manipulation we already
Photoshop everything from smoothing out
wrinkles to adjusting lighting we
enhance images all the time is
generating an entirely new image with AI
where we draw the line if so why where's
the boundary between enhancement and
Fabrication it's a distinction that
might seem subtle but it will have
profound implications basically the
point that he's making is that our
relationship with representations of
ourselves is changing it's changing
because we have access to a technology
that we never had access to before but
even if one goes into understanding
change without bringing the bias of
change being good or bad to it it's
impossible to not recognize that this
represents something shifting now as I
mentioned this is part of a pattern of
AI powered apps that suggests to me that
there is something more to learn here
above and beyond just the fact that
people like this stuff back in December
of last year just after chat GPT
launched chat GPT was not the only
artificial intelligence app that I saw
my entire Community talking about on
their social media in fact even more
visible to me in some ways was the lenza
app which was an AI image generation app
app that once again took photos of
people from their Instagram and Facebook
profiles and turned them into highly
idealized imaginative AI versions of
themselves indeed I still have tons of
people on Facebook who have never
changed their lensa AI profile pictures
ever since they added them back last
year in a lot of ways I actually think
that for many people the combination of
chat gbt as this fundamentally new thing
something that we had never seen before
in terms of an AI that could actually
talk back at us and write things
coherently and interestingly and give us
information in a total new way that
combined with something that was much
more Visual and visceral in the form of
the lensa AI app was this potent
cocktail a onew punch that announced
artificial intelligence in a huge way
one breakout app even a really
interesting one is not a trend but two
things blowing up and going viral at the
same time across multiple dimensions of
this new thing called generative Ai and
that was something that people felt like
they had to pay attention to now of
course with any image generation tool
and particularly one that's going to
take images of real people it was
probably inevitable that there would be
some amount of controversy lenza had no
shortage of it CNN style wrote about the
fact that for some people women in
particular the app seemed to produce
overly sexualized images another
complaint about the app which is of
course part of a much broader Trend that
we talk about here all the time was that
digital artists said that it was a
ripoff of their work now Leno was
powered by stable diffusion and so it
was really the way that stable diffusion
was trained that was the source of
artist a obviously as we know this is a
very unresolved issue even up to now
lensa also had quite an interesting
history as a company in January of this
year NPR wrote a piece called a rocky
past haunts the mysterious company
behind the lenza AI photo app the
article begins aella ruian millionaire
living in Cyprus a dinner with the CEO
of snap a six-figure patent troll case
these are all a part of the history of
Prisma Labs a largely obscure artificial
intelligence startup that spent years
under the radar until November when the
company introduced magic avatars now one
really interesting piece of data from
that outside of any of the interesting
Intrigue around the company's history
apparently in November when the app was
at Peak hype the netted more than $70
million from the app now of course when
entrepreneurs see apps going viral they
think about how they could do a
different version of that same thing and
a couple months later in the middle of
this year we saw another viral AI Avatar
Trend in the form of Rini now at first
what made Rini go viral was people
particularly on Tik Tok using it to turn
their selfies into professional head
shot users wondered why if they had
access to this technology they would
ever pay for professional photos ever
again like epic has in the last couple
days the Rini app sored all all the way
up to the number one spot on Apple's App
Store charts now once again this was a
multiple years to overnight success sort
of story Rini had launched initially in
2019 and hadn't added generative AI to
the app until 2022 and of course it
wasn't until this specific use case of
these professional head shot that it
actually shot up to top the charts and
once again there was controversy in July
Insider published a piece called
ticktockers are flocking to the viral
photo app ramini but some say it's
editing their bodies beyond recognition
it was not just that Rini was
occasionally adding extra fingers but
that in some cases it seemed to be
making people unrecognizably skinnier
one user captioned a Tik Tok video when
you can't use your AI head shot because
it took off 80 pounds and everyone would
notice now this particular person just
viewed it with humor and even said it
gave them some fitness inspiration but
it's obviously brought up much bigger
questions of larger societal Norms of
questions of body ideals that are now
intersecting directly with technology
said one user for women especially body
dysmorphia and poor self-esteem is at an
all-time high due to social media I hope
that women and men who have used these
apps to generate these headshots can see
past the over edited fakeness and look
back in the mirror and see a really rad
and unique person now zooming back up to
the yearbook Trend there are a couple
different dimensions of its particular
brand of controversy one actually has to
do with the recent Hollywood strikes
Newsweek writes with artificial
intelligence and usage rights flagged as
concerns during the recent wga and sag
after strikes why are some celebrities
taking part in the trend continuing they
write some actors pointed out on social
media that by using the app to create
the yearbook photos celebrities are
signing away their likenesses and imag
for future use this is called into
question whether the simplet to use app
undermines the months of strikes now
it's getting a little bit beyond the
scope of this show but lawyers for sag
Afra basically said that whatever the
terms of service of this app say they
actually don't outweigh whatever
negotiations are going on that this
random app's terms of service doesn't
undermine what celebrities have
negotiated with the studios still it's a
fascinating reflection on how these
seemingly small things can be implicated
in a part of much bigger conversations
another big question is of course
privacy can someone explain how this
makes sense even though the app claims
to delete the photos immediately isn't a
data stored for future recognition and
then there's the political dimension of
this yesterday in an unrelated story two
Democrat members of Congress sent a
letter to the CEOs of meta and X
basically saying that they needed to get
on board with new policies around deep
fakes particularly in the wake of the
upcoming elections said senator Amy
kashar they are two of the largest
platforms and voters deserve to know
what guardrails are being put in place
we are simply asking them can't you do
this why aren't you doing this it's
clearly technologically possible now of
course the Deep fakes here that the
politicians are worried about are
political deep fakes and
misrepresentations of politicians who
might be running for election but the
whole deep fake policy gets a lot more
complicated when people are basically
putting up fakes of themselves when this
has just become a normal part of the new
social experience the last dimension of
this that I want to point out has to do
with questions of AI adoption ultimately
all of these different apps that have
gone viral over the last year haven't
gone viral because of some novel
technology none of them are more
powerful than mid Journey or dolly or
anything like that what they've done is
rip out the complex and design an entire
experience around a single socialm
minded use case what that has meant is
that a huge number of people's first
interactions with artificial
intelligence are on the basis of an
extremely simple social Trend Perhaps it
is not surprising that it's a trend that
puts them and their likeness at the very
center of the experience my strong guess
is that in about a week the yearbook
Trend will be almost entirely played out
but I think that the lessons that it has
to teach us about the state of AI and
the state of society remain anyways
interesting little conversation for the
end of the week I appreciate you guys
listening or watching as always and
until next time peace
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