Since the debut of AI-Generating databases last year (2022), there has been a strong reaction from artists whose works are part of those databases and were used without their permission. Lawsuits have arisen along with passionate protests by artists and those sympathetic to their cause. However, the legal system is a very slow-moving beast and the courts are faced with profoundly complicated technical issues in resolving the legal status of AI-Generated databases.
Fortunately, some very big corporations are not going to wait and are trying to solve the ethical problems by creating "clean" databases to draw images from. Sure, they are trying to do the right thing, but make no mistake these companies are looking to profit from their efforts. There's nothing wrong with that, but you have to look past their PR hype to get a better understanding of these "ethical AI art generators".
Fortunately, some very big corporations are not going to wait and are trying to solve the ethical problems by creating "clean" databases to draw images from. Sure, they are trying to do the right thing, but make no mistake these companies are looking to profit from their efforts. There's nothing wrong with that, but you have to look past their PR hype to get a better understanding of these "ethical AI art generators".
First, NVIDIA and Getty Images have announced a collaboration that uses NVIDIA technology and Getty's massive image collection to create an AI art generator (called "Picasso") that uses fully-licensed images. No content is generated from anything outside of the Getty collection. If this is true, that means these two companies will provide the opportunity for commercial use of AI-generated art.
Secondly, Adobe has announced its own AI generator: Adobe Firefly (currently in beta) which uses Adobe Stock and public domain images as its database. Adobe, in their press release for Firefly, said, "Adobe Firefly won't generate content based on other people's or brands IP. They call their efforts, "building a responsible AI" and plan on integrating the technology into practically all of their Creative Cloud programs in the future.
Adobe goes even further by offering a "Do Not Train" tag for artists who don't want their work being used in a database. Adobe says that this tag will "remain associated with content wherever it is used, published, or stored.
Even a cynic like myself can see that the efforts by Adobe, NVIDIA, and Getty, go a long way to solving the ethical issues dogging AI-generated art. Still, there are some critics who have troubling questions. For example, Adobe Stock allows users to upload and sell AI-generated art created in Mid-Journey (a database that has scraped art from the internet without the user's permission). If Adobe includes these works in their Adobe Firefly database they will be contradicting their own claims of "responsible AI".
Adobe goes even further by offering a "Do Not Train" tag for artists who don't want their work being used in a database. Adobe says that this tag will "remain associated with content wherever it is used, published, or stored.
Even a cynic like myself can see that the efforts by Adobe, NVIDIA, and Getty, go a long way to solving the ethical issues dogging AI-generated art. Still, there are some critics who have troubling questions. For example, Adobe Stock allows users to upload and sell AI-generated art created in Mid-Journey (a database that has scraped art from the internet without the user's permission). If Adobe includes these works in their Adobe Firefly database they will be contradicting their own claims of "responsible AI".
Getty and NVIDIA, on the other hand, are in a better position to back up their claims of ethical AI. In his recent GTC keynote, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang stated that "Generative AI is a new kind of computer, one that we program in human language. This ability has profound implications. Everyone can direct a computer to solve problems. This was a domain only for computer programmers. Now, everyone is a programmer. Generative AI is a new computing platform like PC, internet, mobile, and cloud. And like in previous computing eras, first movers are creating new applications and founding new companies to capitalize on generative AI’s ability to automate and co-create".
NVIDIA's long-term support of AI development gives them authority when it comes to the legal and innovative use of AI in generating art, video, and graphics. I suspect that their collaboration with Getty Images will be the more successful "ethical AI generator" in the future. Still, if the courts rule against Getty in its lawsuit against Stability AI, all bets will be off. And the staggering complexity of how images are used in an AI database will most likely befuddle a judge or jury. So the legal issues around AI-generated art will be ambiguous over the next few years. Politics will certainly play a part in this as well.
Overall, I think it's very good that we have such powerful corporations looking into solving the ethical and legal issues surrounding AI-generated art. The groundswell of AI-generated art users has turned into a tidal wave all across the internet both amateur and professional. Knowing that you are creating safe, legal works without pirating other artists' works, is very important for the future. We can't really wait on the courts to solve our ethical problems with AI-generated art.
And one added benefit from NVIDIA and Adobe's efforts is that you can create a database of your own work for AI-generating and then license it yourself.
And that is very hopeful indeed.
And one added benefit from NVIDIA and Adobe's efforts is that you can create a database of your own work for AI-generating and then license it yourself.
And that is very hopeful indeed.
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