Adobe’s thoughts on the ethics of AI-generated images (and paying its contributors for them)

“We’reatatippingpoint whereAIisgoingtobreaktrustinwhatyouseeandhear— anddemocracies can’tsurvivewhenpeopledon’tagreeonfacts.Youhavetohaveabaselineofunderstandingoffacts,”DanaRao,Adobe’sgeneralcounselandchieftrustofficer,toldme.Andwhilethat’snotnecessarilyanewobservation,thecompany’slaunchofitsFireflygenerativeimagecreatorandoverallGenAIplatformthisweekputsthisinadifferentcontext.

Maybemoresothananyothercompany,Adobeisdeeplyembeddedinboththecreativeeconomyandtheworldofmarketing.AndwhiletheAdobeSummit,thecompany’sannualdigitalmarketingevent,unsurprisinglyputsitsfocusonhowgenerativeAIcanhelpmarketersmarketmoreeffectivelywithAI,therewasnoescapingthediscussionsaroundAIethics,especiallyinthecontextofFirefly.Indeed,AdobeitselfputAIethicsinthespotlightbecausethecompanyclearlybelievesthatthisis,inpart,whatallowsittodifferentiateitsgenerativeAIofferingsfromthoseofitscompetition.

AdobeSummitonTuesday,March21,2023,inLasVegas.ImageCredits:DavidBecker/APImagesforAdobe

“Imanage theAI ethicsprogram.Wehaveareallygoodrelationshipwiththeengineeringteamaswe’redevelopingnewtechnologies,”Raoexplained.“We’vebeenreviewing AIfeaturesforthelastfiveyears.EverysingleAIfeature thatgoestomarketgoesthroughthe reviewboard.”Thisteam,it’sworthnoting,alsoensuresthattheAI-generatedresultsarenotjustcommerciallysafebutalsofreeofbias(toensurethatwhenyouaskforimagesrelatedtoanoccupation,forexample,theresultscoverabroaddemographicset).

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AsAdobeuseditsAdobeStockservicetotrainthemodel(inadditiontoopenlylicensedandpublicdomainimages),thecompanydoesn’thavetoworryabouthavingtherightstotheseimages.ThephotographersthatcontributetoStockalreadyhaveacommercialrelationshipwithAdobe,afterall,andarelikelycreatingthekindofcommerciallysafeimagesthatAdobe’scustomersarelookingfor—andthatthecompanycanthentrainitsAIon.Andsincethelicensingisclear,Adobe’suserswon’thavetoworryaboutbreakinganycopyrightlawsthemselves.

“Thatstockdatabaseofimagesis theperfectplacetogoif youwanttocreatesomethingdesignedtobecommerciallysafe.Andwehavethelicenseforit—a directlicensewiththecontributor.And thathelpsonboth theethicssideandthecopyrightside,”Raoexplained.

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Butthatalsocreatesquestionsabouthowtopaythesecontributorsforthecontentthey’velicensedtoAdobe,especiallyifserviceslikeFireflytakeoff.Today,stockphotographerstendtoreceiveroyaltiesforeverytimetheirphotogetslicensedonaplatformlikeAdobeStock.AndwhileAdobehastherightstousethiscontenttotrainitsmodel,AdobeStockcontributorswillsurelywanttogetpaidforhelpingthecompanytrainthesemodels,too.Inthecompany’sdefense,it’sbeenquiteopenaboutthis,thoughhowitexpectstodothisremainsabitvague.Raodidn’tprovidetoomanyadditionaldetails,buthedidexplainthecompany’sthinkinginabitmoredetail.

“Whatwe’vesaidisthatwe’re reallyreviewingallthedifferentwaysyoucouldpossiblydothisandwe’regoingtodothatthroughthebeta,”hesaid.“I thinkthenumberonethingisthatwe’recommitted. Wefeelit’stherightthingto do.We’recommittedtocompensating thepeoplewhoarecontributingtheirworktothesedatabases.That’s whatwewanttomakesure.That’sthemessagewewanttogetoutthere.”

HestressedthatAdobewantstheretobeavalueexchangebetweenthecontributorsandthecompany.HearguedthattherearelotsofdifferentwaysAdobecouldpaycontributorsforhowtheirimagesinfluencetheAI-generatedcontent,butbecauseit’shardtoknowwhatexactlyinfluencedhowthemodelcreatedanewimage,it’llalsobehardforAdobetodecidehowtocompensatethecontentcreatorsthatcontributedtoeveryAI-generatedimage.ButRaobelievestheremaybeproxiesthatthecompanycoulduse—andthesolutionforthatmayactuallybeanotherAIsystem.

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“Speculatively,I coulduseanAItoanalyzeanimageandsay: wheredoI thinkitcamefrom?There’sjustanumberofwaysto imaginehow youcouldcome upwiththerightmodel.Butthere’snoneedrightnowforustosolvethatproblemwhilewe’reinbeta,”saidRao.

Healsonotedthat,inaddition,Adobecouldmaybepayphotographersforwhenauserasksforanimagethat’sspecificallyinfluencedbytheirindividualstyle.

“WhenI thinkabout aforward-looking[compensation]model,it’sstyle. Rightnow,that’sanegative.Artists don’twanttheirstyletoberippedoff.Butwhatifyoucanmonetizeit?Whatifwecansay:yougiveusyourassets.We’llplugitintoFireflyandthenifsomeonesays:I wantittolook likeDanaRao,wepopupamessagesayingfor$2,you cangetsomethinginthestyleofDanaRao, allofasudden,Igetanewrevenuestream,”heexplained.Healsonotedthatitisnowuptoeverybodywhoworksinthecreativeeconomytofigureoutnewwaystomakemoney.

That’sforAdobeanditscontentpartnerstofigureout,though.Forusers,whowanttouseFireflytocreatetheirownassets,that’snotaproblemtheyhavetoworryabout.Therearesomeinterestingquestionsaroundhow—orevenif—youcancopyrightAI-generatedimages.

“Wherethecopyrightofficeisnow—andIthinkthere’sadecentchancethat’llstick,becausetechnicallyspeaking,it’salmostnonsensical,otherwise.Rightnow,they’resayingthatif youtypeinatext prompt,theresultingimage:nooneownsit.Youneedahuman toaddexpressioninordertogetcopyright,”explainedRao.Howmuchvalueahumanwouldhavetoaddtocopyrightanimage,though,isstillabitunclear.

Adobe,togetherwithalargenumberofpartners,haslongchampionedtheContentAuthenticityInitiative,whichisdevelopingstandardsandtoolsfortrackinghowanimagewascreatedandmanipulatedovertime.Andwhilethisinitiativemostlyfocusedonfightingdeepfakesandmisinformation,itmayalsocometoplayinthiscontextbecauseitwillallowcompaniestoprovethattheydidaddtheirownexpressiontoanAI-generatedimage.

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