Patients have always come to plastic surgery centers in hopes of achieving a certain aesthetic. During their consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon, they discuss different pathways to their goals to make an informed decision.
That’s changing lately. With AI being all the rage, there’s a new trend that’s become very troubling for plastic surgeons.
It’s known as AI face.
What Is AI Face?
AI face can apply to two different things. The first is facial recognition software technology that’s used for security purposes. This is when your phone, for example, can open an app based on the tech’s ability to recognize your face. It’s been around for quite some time, and most would agree that it’s quite helpful.
The other AI face is not terribly helpful. In fact, it can be damaging.
Over the years, AI models known as GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks) have been trained to understand facial structure, texture, and lighting by being fed millions of photos of real people. These images have been used for character design in video games, avatars, stock photos, and deep fakes.
As the technology advanced (as it were), people can now use AI chatbots to generate their ideal faces. And the images are hyper-realistic. So much so that when people see the glorified version of themselves, they want nothing less.
So they take these images of themselves with flawless skin, sharply sculpted cheekbones, refined noses, and near-perfect symmetry and say to their surgeon, “Make me look like this.” And since plastic surgeons are not magicians, this is problematic.
How AI Face Is Affecting Plastic Surgeons
When patients arrive at the surgeon’s office with these AI-generated photos, they also come with the expectation that such results are achievable through surgery. To be told that they aren’t is not an acceptable answer. It’s as though AI has clouded patients’ ability to understand that there are physical limits.
What’s even weirder, and widely unknown by patients, is that when AI edits these photos, it often defaults to the most widely accepted beauty ideals of the moment. So these days, that means a broader jawline, lower eyebrows, and fuller upper eyelids for men; and a V-shaped jawline, sweeping curve along the cheekbones, and a heart-shaped face for women.
Even more alarming is that some less-than-honorable plastic surgeons are now sharing surgical results on social media that are AI-generated, but just realistic enough to be believable. Especially for those who don’t know what to look for to identify AI involvement. This is a sure recipe for disaster.
Patients Seeking the Impossible
Surgeons are finding it increasingly difficult to explain to patients that they cannot achieve the extreme digital alterations that some demand. And one of the biggest problems is the sudden need for symmetry.
No face is completely symmetrical. This is how it’s been since time immemorial. And it has not been an issue. But since AI can now rearrange a few pixels to give any person a completely symmetrical face, this is suddenly what people want. Yet rearranging anatomy is considerably more challenging than pixels. And in many cases, impossible.
For example, if a patient comes to a plastic surgeon insisting that he no longer wants his right eye to be a few millimeters higher than his left, there’s nothing the surgeon can do but explain that it’s impossible to do this. Eye level can’t be altered because it’s set in bone. And since the brain sits behind the eyes, to attempt to change their position is unsafe, to say the least!
Yet, many surgeons are faced with patients who simply won’t take no for an answer. They demand that surgeons find a way to meet these standards – regardless of how time-consuming, prohibitively expensive, or even physically unattainable they are. And the surgeons, if they have any scruples, have to turn them away.
It’s not an ideal situation for anyone involved.
What Does AI Say About Your Face?
If you’ve been considering a plastic surgery procedure for your face based on an AI-generated image, it’s important to understand that it very well may not be attainable.
Yet, there are still countless ways a skilled and experienced doctor can help you boost your confidence through plastic surgery.
So if you’re not married to the concept of your AI face and are curious about proven ways to achieve a more youthful glow, contact us today to set up a consultation. And leave AI for other ventures.