Given the sensitive nature of anything that might be related to racism these days, one photo editing app was recently thrust into the spotlight due to one of its features. The developers call it AI Face and it functions similarly to popular filters used by people to alter their looks on social media. What it does differently is an attempt to present how a person would look if they were from a certain ethnicity. However, reports claim there are growing concerns over how it appears to encourage the use of digital blackface.

Gradient's official page advertises AI Face with a description that reads: "Find out how you would look like if you were born on a different continent." Although many pointed out that it is intended for casual fun, others believe there is a racial undertone that might upset certain groups. According to CNN, the company is yet to share an official response regarding the purported issue. Sources suggest that it drew public attention after images of two celebrities from a popular TV show posted photos on Twitter.

Brody Jenner and Scott Disick of "Keeping up with the Kardashians" fame used Gradient's AI Face to show how they might look like if they had different ancestries. The former uploaded images were labelled "Asia," "India," and "Africa." Meanwhile, the latter shows "India," "Europe," and "Asia." Shortly after the posts went up on the platform, several users commented about it being "racist" and potentially promoting "blackface."

This eventually led the two to delete their respective Twitter posts, but both are yet to make any public statements regarding the incident. The Gradient app is the work of Bogdan Matveev and Vladyslav Urazov, who are both described as "artificial intelligence and machine learning enthusiasts." Aside from AI Face, there are other features which have been lauded by those who have used the app.

Gradient AI Face feature described as racist
Gradient's official page advertises AI Face with a description that reads: "Find out how you would look like if you were born on a different continent." Photo: Gradient

People can let Gradient show which celebrity/animal they resemble or turn their photos into 15th-century portraits. Then there's the Ethnicity Estimate function, which appears to rely on facial recognition algorithms to calculate the likely "ethnic background" of the person. On the other hand, cybersecurity experts warn against the use of some photo editing apps that could possibly be used by hackers for identity theft or scams.

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