I'm disappointed with Evoto, but here’s why I think "Headshotgate" has provided a unique opportunity for us creatives

The Evoto controversy has highlighted the uneasy relationship between the creative industry and artificial intelligence. On the one hand, AI has the power to give. Speed up workflows, distil complicated editing techniques into simple processes, and expand creative possibilities.

On the other hand, AI has the power to take. Scrape digital works, provide the consumer with the means to access the end product, and syphon clients and consumers from working creatives.

Plenty of AI platforms take from the creative industry, but Evoto has always marketed itself as a giver. Its flagship Evoto AI desktop software is a portrait-retouching application that could have easily been targeted towards social media-loving Gen Zers, dating app romantics and anyone looking for a half-decent corporate headshot (more on that later).

And yet Evoto situated itself firmly within the professional sphere, surrounding itself with working creatives and exhibiting at industry trade shows. It stood out.

This carefully curated relationship is precisely why Evoto now finds itself fighting to earn back the trust of its user base. A couple of days ago, an AI Headshot Generator appeared on Evoto’s website – and understandably, it caused a huge uproar.

It appeared to be a fully generative AI tool that required no input from a creative; feed a selfie into the generator and get a professional-looking headshot in return. Evoto removed the feature from its website, but the screenshots had already been taken. The damage was done.

An attempt to explain the situation on Facebook alongside an official statement couldn’t stop an onslaught of angry comments. Early adopter and Evoto Ambassador Sal Cincotta released a video where he questioned his relationship with the company. And the specialist photography press got hold of the story.

If that wasn’t enough, the entire situation coincided with Evoto exhibiting at the Imaging USA expo.

So where do we go from here? Well, I might be at odds with the majority of Evoto’s user base, but while straddling the line has left the AI outfit bloodied, I think we creatives have a rare opportunity to have our cake and eat it. Hear me out…

A unique opportunity for creatives

I’ve made no secret over the years that I’m not a fan of AI. In fact, I’d rather go back to the way things were. Then again, I’d rather watch the Original Trilogy. I long for the days of Nineties sports stars like Michael Jordan, Michael Schumacher and Ronaldo Nazário. And think back to a time when my phone’s only means of vying for my attention was Snake.

But my old soul knows that the artificial intelligence boom is here, and no amount of hours playing Final Fantasy III is ever going to change that.

Last year, I attended the launch of Evoto Video in New York City and had the pleasure of meeting some of the team. And while it’s very easy to dehumanize online companies as evil, money-grabbing entities, Evoto isn’t run by a System Shock AI overlord. It’s run by human beings who seemed genuinely excited by the tools they were delivering to creatives.

I say all of this for full transparency, not to belittle the gravity of Evoto’s error. I fully back the user base’s (reasoned) responses. And I’m darned angry, too. But what I won’t do is speculate.

Evoto has said: “We do not use your images or your clients’ images to train our AI models.” It’s also said: “we realize that by testing a tool that generates images from scratch, we crossed a line.” And I choose to believe it.

The user base has a choice. And it needs to be considered very carefully, because I think it could reverberate throughout the industry for years to come.

We either drop Evoto entirely or help mould it into an unlikely ally within this frightening new AI-powered reality. The latter only works if Evoto is willing to fight tooth and nail to rebuild this relationship. But we also have to be willing to cut it some slack.

If we throw Evoto to the wolves now, we risk sending out a message to similar AI outfits that a creatives-first mantra simply isn’t worth the risk – pushing them towards the ‘AI slop’ that’s threatening our very existence.

Over the past couple of days, working creatives have shown potential AI suitors their line in the sand. And I think that can only be a good thing. But over the coming weeks, months, and years, we have an opportunity to show them what can be achieved if that line is adhered to.

If Evoto is truly remorseful, it will tread very carefully from now on. It will be more open to dialogue. It will be more transparent with its intentions. And it will be more rational with its ambitions.

If the user base jumps ship now, it’ll be heading back into uncharted waters until the tide pulls it toward another AI startup. One that likely hasn’t been stung like Evoto, likely doesn’t know (or care to know) about the line we’ve drawn in the sand. And all too quickly, we could find ourselves dragged into some kind of Groundhog Day loop.

Sadly, there will always be AI companies working against the creative industry. And not a day goes by that I don’t worry about my future as a writer, photographer and content creator. But I have had to begrudgingly come to terms with the fact that AI is here to stay.

I’m not telling Evoto’s user base what it should do. I’m simply offering my perspective. And what happens next will very much depend on Evoto's continued handling of the situation and its user base’s willingness to forgive (not forget).

Right now, though, I’m minded to try working with a company that knows the industry’s boundaries, rather than starting from the ground up.

As human perspectives often do, my opinion on this matter may well change. But whether or not you agree with my sentiment, I welcome your thoughts, your criticism, your dialogue. This article doesn’t claim to hold all the answer – and that’s how you know it isn’t ‘AI-generated slop’.

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