I don’t know if this is solely because I am in an echochamber of fellow journalists theorising dystopically on the future of our industry, but it feels like the narrative surrounding AI is predominantly negative. There is, of course, the environmental impact of AI centres and the immense amount of energy and water required to operate them, the fear surrounding AI automation and the subsequent likelihood of redundancies and the amount of misinformation in these early stages of its usage. All of these concerns are rightfully valid, but the train has left the station, and if you’re hoping to look more positively at what AI can do for us, there is one category where I am particularly excited about the impact: skincare.
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More specifically, skincare tools are about to get a whole lot more personal. Very much in the infant stage, the possibilities are only just revealing themselves at the intersection of beauty, tech and AI. These include skin analysis through image recognition, personalised product recommendations, adaptable technology based on the user and the ability to try before you buy.
“With the advances in AI and computer vision, the next frontier will be that you can take images of yourself and get an analysis that you can trust – not only what’s the right product for you, but also how to use that product the best,” says Tim Roberts, head of science at Therabody. “Deeper personalisation through technology will be the frontier to tackle.”
