L’Oréal claims creative jobs are safe despite its new artist AI
L’Oreal has insisted that human creativity remains essential, despite announcing its new partnership with Nvidia on Wednesday, which will be used to scale up AI-driven production across creative sectors like content creation.
At the Viva Tech conference in Paris, the French beauty giant unveiled an expansive plan to roll out Nvidia’s AI enterprise platform across its global operations.
“Now is the time to scale”, said L’Oréal chief marketing officer Asmita Dubey. “Finding the product is changing. Purchasing is changing. Loyalty is changing. There are so many things shifting with AI”.
The partnership includes rapid development of 3D product rendering, generative advertising content, and personalised recommendations, all as part of the firm’s larger push through its internal AI content platform, ‘Createch’.
Yet this platform, which helps with ideation, production and distribution of creative assets, has sparked concerns over L’Oréal’s workforce.
These are functions which creative directors and agencies traditionally handled, raising questions on job stability in a field already grappling with the rise of AI.
L’Oréal: the human touch remains
L’Oréal presented AI as a catalyst for creativity, rather than a replacement.
“Imagine a world where your creativity has no limits, powered by a blend of human imagination and generative AI”, claimed Imane Benosmane, the beauty giant’s GenAI PMO.
She also emphasised the need to upskill and inspire employees to prevent creative stagnation, telling City PM: “The models that were the best yesterday, may not be the best today. We need to constantly upskill to avoid standardisation”.
Laurent Querne, L’Oréal’s creative director, offered a more cautious perspective on the tech’s impact on jobs:
“Everything is going to get faster. Those who have caught the ‘AI train’ are ahead – this is a real leap forward”.
When questioned on the vulnerability of jobs not only at the firm but in the creative space, Querne told City PM: “All of our professions are, or are going to be questioned. For the guys who create images, it’s going to be complicated. Same for me, but we’re all going to be affected – every job”.
He stressed, however, the irreplaceability of human nuance in the creative sector, especially in photo and art direction.
“The photographer will have a personal touch – something happens on set, something human that can’t be replicated. That won’t go away”.
At the same time, he warned about the over-reliance of AI-generated content, which can be spotted easily. “The new generation can see it from kilometers away”, he added.
Critical training to stay relevant
Laurent urged creatives to develop their own ideas first before turning to AI, whilst also highlighting a shift in required skills.
“Use your head. Come up with ideas. Visit museums, read books, do the groundwork. AI can help refine, but it can’t replace human thinking”.
Imane also pointed to internal efforts within L’Oréal to help its employees adapt to a digital-native way of productivity, including early access programs for creatives, workshops, as well collaborations with AI artists to spark imagination.
Despite the firm’s reassurances, the rapid transformation clearly challenges traditional creative roles, blurring the line between augmentation and replacement as skills shift.
Asmita Dubey concluded at Viva Tech: “We are incredibly excited to collaborate with Nvidia to leverage AI’s potential, to augment creativity, and help turn consumers’ beauty dreams into reality”.