How is Firefly safe for commercial use? (Adobe Stock now contains 62% unsafe Generative AI, IP, etc)

[djohn101]

Hi there, this is a serious question by a loyal Adobe user of 10+ years.

I have a major concern with using Adobe Firefly for commercial use, and app safety now that it is built into the programs I use (Photoshop, etc.). Can somewhat at Adobe please help clarify? Currently commercial use states:

Adobe Firefly - Free Generative AI for creatives

Trained on Adobe Stock images, openly licensed content, and public domain content, Firefly is designed to be safe for commercial use. To ensure that creators can benefit from generative AI, we’ve developed a compensation model for Adobe Stock contributors whose content is used in the dataset to retrain Firefly models.

A quick search on Adobe Stock will find MILLIONS of Generative AI uploaded from those exact unsafe sources. I had remembered seeing something that the Gen AI portion was only 5%, yet here in the Illustration Category of Adobe Stock, Generative AI makes up 62% of content there (52,670,377 Generative AI images, out of 84,699,290 total) as of 6/22/24.  

I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't so critical to get the data right. These generative AI models wouldn't exist without the content they are built upon, so that's why the early models were such an issue and lawsuits sprung up (billions of images scraped from the internet without artists' permission). Users were told Adobe Firefly was meant to be the "safe" alternative to not commercially-safe generative AI sources (built upon work scraped from artist's portfolio sites), yet here we are, flooding Adobe Stock with images from unknown Generative AI sources.

I've already come across two actual artist's names, multiple studios, and thousands of images containing blatant IP or brand content on Adobe Stock.

There are currently 87.8 MILLION pieces of content that are Generative AI on Adobe Stock and growing.

Can anyone clarify what percent of unsafe generative AI makes up the Firefly Training data set? What percent even is safe for commercial use? 

Does Adobe either:

A) Train Firefly on Adobe Stock, which contains millions of images from unsafe sources, including IP, or

B) AVOID those unsafe sources and images containing IP, yet continue to sell them on Adobe Stock*

*This is a separate issue that I'm hoping to find an answer on eventually, if purchasing a Generative AI image from Adobe Stock that clearly contains IP or accidental brand content unknowingly (who is now liable if sued).

Can somebody please help clarify IF and HOW Firefly is commercially safe?

I want to continue to use this software but I am unsure how safe it is becoming. Please help clarify. Thank you!

[Ten A · Accepted solution]

There will be no information available to clarify this. However, it is possible to get the same protection as Adobe Stock by using Firefly via Adobe Stock.
For more information, see "Generated Outputs from Adobe Stock" on the following page.

https://stock.adobe.com/license-terms

[djohn101]

Oh thanks, I did not know about that option. Does the Adobe Stock protection via the Standard and Extended License include the Generative AI images on Adobe Stock as well? Or only the "Exclude Generative AI" content? 

Thank you for clarifying!

[Ten A]

Assets published on Adobe Stock, including those with the "Generated with AI" tag, will be protected according to the license purchased.

[djohn101]

Hi, sorry, I'm really struggling to undertand how this works. If I purchase a Generative AI image such as this Louis Vuitton pattern or Mario image and license through Adobe Stock, that means I am now covered to reproduce?

That can't possibly be correct, right? Or is it just a mistake that these images are on here? (i.e. AI images trained without consent). Or does Adobe have partnerships with these brands?

[Ten A]

Perhaps they are restricted to editorial use only or have slipped through the filter. Famous characters and trademarks are available for editorial use, but these uses require a separate license from the rights holder. There is no protection for any use that does not follow these procedures.

[Hugh Betcha]

In my view, one of two things will happen:
Companies that use Ai which are trained from 'unauthorized' sources will be forced to pay content creators
OR
Adobe will eventually have no more customers who generate content using their tools (apart from Ai)

[Ten A]

AdobeStock assets are used in Firefly's training, but AdobeStock contributors are paid a fee based on the number of submissions. It's not a free train.