Getty Images has released its own AI photo-generation tool called Generative AI, which is paywalled on the Getty.com website. The tool, developed in partnership with Nvidia, will also be available through an API for integration with other apps. Designed for commercial use, the tool allows users to generate new images based on prompts rather than using stock photos directly. Getty’s tool is trained using Nvidia’s model architecture and hundreds of millions of Getty Images. However, the launch raises ethical questions about the use of photographers’ images and how companies will compensate them.
Getty Images’ AI photo-generation tool, Generative AI, has been launched with the support of Nvidia. The paywalled tool is available on Getty’s website and can be integrated into third-party apps through an API. Unlike other AI image tools, Generative AI uses legally cleared photos from Getty’s collection to train the models, ensuring that it is commercially clean and fully indemnified. This means that if a customer uses an AI-generated image that resembles the original artwork of a Getty contributor, they are covered by Getty’s royalty-free licensing agreements. Additionally, new content generated by AI will not be added to Getty’s existing content libraries.
The release of Getty’s tool puts it in direct competition with rivals such as Shutterstock and Adobe. While Shutterstock has partnered with OpenAI to train its Dall-E models on its images, Adobe has recently integrated its generative AI engine, Firefly, into Photoshop. However, Getty’s AI photo pool raises ethical concerns about the use of photographers’ images and the compensation they will receive. Getty claims to have cleared the legal rights to the images used for training, ensuring that photographers will be fairly compensated. The launch of these AI tools marks a shift in the industry and raises broader questions about the ethical implications of AI-generated content.