ASHWINI ASOKAN
Meet the woman behind the artificial intelligence technology changing how we shop, style and design our homes.
Meet the woman behind the artificial intelligence technology changing how we shop, style and design our homes
Ashwini Asokan is the CEO and founder of Mad Street Den, a San Francisco- and Chennai-based tech company at the forefront of image-recognition technology. Her app, Vue.ai, has already been adopted by the fashion industry, including such retail giants as Net-aPorter, Levi’s and Macy’s. The AI-based program can recognise style, fabric, colour, patterns, shape and size, and soon will be able to create a shopper’s avatar right down to every curve. And the more you browse, the more it learns. Vue.ai also has the ability to remember your previous purchases, helping to build on your already existing wardrobe — exactly like a stylist. So unlike the now-ancient algorithms of “someone else who bought this also bought this”, the experience is humanly intuitive.
Now, Asokan has her eyes set on the interiors space. “The most powerful thing about AI is the way we’re slowly beginning to change the way we interact with the world around us,” she says. “Image recognition, in particular, lends itself to objects that have a distinct visceral and visual effect on us.” Technology has already changed how we see the world and never has design been more accessible. Consider the impact Pinterest, Instagram, social media and resources like Google Arts & Culture have had on our global knowledge and awareness, as well as our collective appetite for discovering, sharing and devouring imagery.
Even in mainstream culture, with the popularity of television programs like Grand Designs and The Block, it seems that almost anyone can develop a traveller’s eye for contemporary design. “Suddenly, everyone with homes ranging from designer bungalows to the student living in a tiny dorm has become aware of design, organisation, aesthetics and more,” says Asokan. With Vue.ai, the entrepreneur intends to make interior styling as accessible as a Pinterest page, except the algorithm is completely personalised for an individual’s tastes. “Our machine-learning algorithms recognise different types of furniture — they understand style, colour, pattern, texture and more, and they curate these pieces for you,” she explains.
“If you’re a home and lifestyle brand, you can personalise the experience for each and every shopper looking for something that defines them.” Beyond that, the algorithms intuit every shopper’s style from the pieces they look at online, the trends they tap into, their mood boards, inspirational images and more. “Imagine no two shoppers having the same experience because there’s an AI interior designer curating an app that fits your aesthetics and needs,” says Asokan. Add augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), import your room’s dimensions and existing pieces, and you may never need to set foot in a showroom again.
T“We’re going to see the rise of the CONSUMER as the CREATOR and it’s going to be very exciting”
he next step, says Asokan, is AI-generated bespoke furniture. “We’re going to see the rise of the consumer as the creator and it’s going to be very exciting,” she says. This doesn’t necessarily mean the role of the designer is dead — but it certainly changes accessibility. “There will always be people who want their choices curated and handed over to them,” Asokan notes. “Time is a resource that will never go out of fashion. But the presence of different types of I/O control devices [programs or hardware that can transfer data back and forth to a computer, like a mouse or an external hard drive], AI and VR allow you to reimagine creation across mediums we can’t even begin to envision today.”
There is an argument, particularly in creative industries, that warns against AI, stating that it won’t be long until robots will be doing the work of the designer and taking jobs. But Asokan counters that. She believes that we should think of AI as an artistic tool, not a replacement for creative thinking. “We’re here to create a new category that never existed before. And we’ve barely started,” she says. “The possibilities are endless.”