Adobe
is
going
all
in
on
generative
AI
models
and
tools,
even
if
that
means
turning
away
creators
who
dislike
the
technology.
Artists
who
refuse
to
embrace
AI
in
their
work
are
“not
going
to
be
successful
in
this
new
world
without
using
it,”
says
Alexandru
Costin,
vice
president
of
generative
AI
at
Adobe.
In
an
interview
with
The
Verge,
Costin
said
that
he
“isn’t
aware”
of
any
plans
for
Adobe
to
launch
products
that
don’t
include
generative
AI
for
creators
who
prefer
to
manually
complete
tasks
or
oppose
how
AI
is
changing
the
creative
industry.
“We
have
older
versions
of
our
products
that
don’t
use
gen
AI,
but
I
wouldn’t
recommend
using
them,”
Costin
said.
“Our
goal
is
to
make
our
customers
successful,
and
we
think
that
in
order
for
them
to
be
successful,
they
need
to
embrace
the
tech.”
And
according
to
Adobe’s
President
of
Digital
Media,
David
Wadhwani,
the
company
is
unlikely
to
accommodate
creators
who
think
otherwise.
“We’ve
always
innovated
with
conviction,
and
we
believe
in
the
conviction
of
what
we’re
doing
here,”
said
Wadhwani,
acknowledging
that
some
creatives
have
loudly
criticized
Adobe’s
adoption
of
generative
AI
technology.
“People
will
either
agree
with
that
conviction
or
they
won’t,
but
we
think
our
approach
is
the
one
that
wins
frankly
in
the
short
term,
but
certainly
in
the
long
term.”
Most
of
Adobe’s
generative
AI
tools
have
very
focused
purposes,
like
Photoshop’s
new
Remove
Distractions
feature.Image:
Adobe
Adobe
is
in
a
difficult
position
—
while
many
of
its
customers,
particularly
businesses
and
large
creative
teams,
are
hungry
for
AI
features
that
can
increase
productivity,
many
artists
openly
detest
the
technology
and
fear
how
it
will
impact
their
livelihoods.
Given
the
demand
already
exists,
however,
Adobe
would
be
risking
its
dominant
position
in
the
creative
software
market
if
it
ignored
what
many
customers
are
asking
for.
If
Adobe
doesn’t
develop
these
tools,
other
companies
will,
and
they
may
not
make
the
effort
to
do
so
in
a
way
that
respects
artists’
work.
There
are
also
communities
of
people
online
who
harbor
an
extreme
hatred
of
AI
regardless
of
how
it’s
been
applied,
and
will
go
out
of
their
way
to
condemn
and
avoid
interacting
with
it.
For
example,
when
a
“shot-for-shot”
remake
of
the
Princess
Mononoke
movie
trailer
made
with
Kling
recently
went
viral,
it
was
briefly
taken
offline
by
its
creator
following
intense
backlash
from
fans
of
the
original
Hayao
Miyazaki
classic
who
felt
the
video
was
disrespectful
or
outright
ugly.
But
the
generative
AI
features
like
those
powered
by
Adobe’s
Firefly
models
are
the
most
adopted
products
Adobe
has
ever
released,
according
to
Wadhwani,
which
is
all
the
signal
the
company
needs
to
continue
on
the
same
path.
There
are
plenty
of
generative
AI
models
that
already
compete
with
Adobe’s
Firefly
lineup,
from
both
heavy
hitters
like
OpenAI
and
Google,
and
smaller
niche
startups
that
are
trying
to
carve
out
their
own
place
in
the
industry.
And
in
many
cases,
Adobe
is
the
one
playing
catch
up.
The
forthcoming
“Project
Concept”
collaborative
canvas,
which
also
includes
text-to-image
tools
and
an
AI
remixing
feature,
is
similar
to
existing
apps
like
Figma’s
FigJam
and
Kaiber’s
Superstudio,
for
example.
Adobe
says
it
aims
to
implement
AI
in
a
way
that
gives
artists
more
time
to
focus
on
actually
being
creative
rather
than
replacing
them
entirely,
such
as
making
tools
more
efficient
and
removing
tedious
tasks
like
resizing
or
masking
objects.
The
company
is
essentially
trying
to
appeal
to
both
sides
by
giving
its
AI
tools
very
specific
purposes
inside
its
Creative
Cloud
applications,
rather
than
pitching
them
as
a
means
to
replace
every
aspect
of
content
creation.
“If
you
just
rely
on
AI
for
all
this
stuff,
you’re
going
to
end
up
with
a
lot
more
content
that
looks
like
the
same
content
everyone
else
is
making.”
“We
think
that
demand
for
content
is
insatiable.
We
also
think
that
human
creativity
will
be
a
critical
part
of
it,”
said
Wadhwani.
“If
you
just
rely
on
AI
for
all
this
stuff,
you’re
going
to
end
up
with
a
lot
more
content
that
looks
like
the
same
content
everyone
else
is
making.”
What
we’re
likely
to
see
is
a
greater
divide
between
smaller
artists
and
the
wider
creative
industry.
The
demand
for
effectively
every
kind
of
content,
from
images
and
copy
for
advertising,
to
the
TV
shows
and
other
media
we
consume,
is
growing
rapidly.
An
Adobe
survey
reports
that
it
increased
two-fold
between
2021-2023,
and
could
increase
up
to
2000
percent
by
2025,
which
is
pushing
companies
to
find
new
ways
to
affordably
increase
production.
Generative
AI
tools
—
many
of
which
promise
to
automate
repetitive
or
technically
challenging
tasks
—
are
a
highly
appealing
solution
to
meet
such
demands.
But
plenty
of
people
still
value
the
work
that
goes
into
manual
creative
processes,
and
I
don’t
see
that
going
away
entirely.
Adobe
now
has
a
generative
AI
model
that
can
produce
video
clips
from
text
descriptions,
which
may
eventually
impact
cinematographers.
animators,
and
VFX
artists.Image:
Adobe
“I
think
there
will
be
a
thirst
for
artists
who
do
things
by
hand,”
said
Wadhwani.
“In
the
last
decade
I
can
take
a
picture
and
run
it
through
a
process
that
makes
it
look
like
a
painting,
but
I’m
not
going
to
value
that
‘painting’
the
same
way
I
would
an
artist
who
actually
took
the
time
to
make
a
real
painting.”
There’s
little
doubt
that
generative
AI
is
changing
the
creative
landscape
though.
Adobe
says
the
technology
will
create
new
jobs,
but
those
jobs
will
be
different,
and
some
specialized
roles
may
disappear
entirely.
It’s
also
just
difficult
to
avoid
AI
art
generally
these
days
—
platforms
like
Etsy
that
were
created
for
creators
to
sell
hand-made
wares
are
now
inundated
with
it,
and
it’s
harder
for
artists
to
find
exposure
online
now
they
have
to
compete
with
AI
content
farms.
Adobe
is
the
dominant
provider
of
creative
design
software
and
few
other
companies
provide
a
similarly
connected
ecosystem
of
products.
That
makes
it
hard
for
customers
to
simply
jump
ship
if
they
don’t
agree
with
the
direction
it’s
taking,
even
if
it
is
trying
to
be
considerate
about
how
generative
AI
is
being
implemented.
But
if
its
endorsement
of
AI
ruffles
enough
feathers,
then
that
could
give
way
for
new
competitors
to
appease
the
users
that
Adobe
is
leaving
behind.
And
if
the
backlash
presented
by
online
creators
is
any
indication,
that’s
a
sizable
market
that
Adobe
is
at
risk
of
losing.
It
seems
Adobe
just
thinks
the
opportunity
that
AI
adopters
present
is
even
larger.
Comments