Will you also pay the authors money for video content?

Please, give us an option to opt out.

We currently do not allow for an opt-out mechanism for Adobe Stock content, as this content is used for building AI models for a variety of existing and future Stock features.

thank you,

Mat Hayward

Are you planning to include an option to opt out for the future?

Hi Matt,

Thank-you for the FYI. While it is nice to compensate authors, and certainly appreciated -

(a) Doing it the way other companies did (i.e., "take first, ask permission later") does not feel right, and is not right.
(b) A more honest/ethical/equitable approach would be doing fractional payments (as opposed to a lump sum) for EVERY image generated with the tool going forward. I realize that is not what other companies are doing - BUT - it would certainly be a much fairer system. AND... adobe could be a leader here... If you wouldn't mind passing that on, that would be appreciated.

Basically -
(a) Opt-in/opt-out system. Contributors CHOOSE whether they want to participate. Works are added/removed from the training set, depending on the setting.
(b) For a 'fair' system (where you'd most likely get contributors WANTING to participate) - contributors benefit for EVERY SINGLE "AI" IMAGE generated.

How do you do that? It's quite simple, really.
- When the neural networks are set up - the ID # of the images is recorded for the data inputted - i.e., a "data point".
- When a customer "generates" an "AI" image - it "pulls" from sometimes tens, or hundreds or thousands of "data points" to create that image. All the ID#'s of images used in composing that "AI image" is recorded.
- Each contributor - image ID - is given a fractional portion of that generated sale. Which, obviously adds up the more images created.

Doing it this way is certainly much more ethical, AND equitable/fair - and most likely you'd have people WANTING to make images when they know they will be compensated for, not with a tool that is designed to "replace" them.

It also CAN (and SHOULD be) done retroactively - and is very easy to do so.

Going forward it is also very easy to do so.

So for example, let's say:

a) A customer pays $50 for an "AI" tool, and makes 500 images. So each "image" is worth $0.10.
b) Let's say one of those random images "used" 100 contributor files to do so in their neural network.
c) Using the current arrangement (33%), payment would work out as follows. (As an aside, the % should be upped significantly for contributors, because once the tool is in place, adobe doesn't really have to do much 'maintenance'. The 'work' is image creation. I'd suggest a 90% contributor/10% split, or at least 80% contributor-20% adobe. But a different topic).

But for now - using the 33% idea... $0.067 to adobe, $0.033 to the "contributor pool" for the image created.
100 'images' used to create the "ai" image, so $0.033/100 = $0.0033/contributor.

Obviously, for a single image that is not much - BUT - it also obviously quickly adds up, as 1000's of images are created with the "AI" tools.

Certainly much fairer, and equitable.

And OPT-IN/OPT-OUT respected. if a contributor chose to "opt-out" - then their data points would ALSO BE REMOVED from the dataset for future "AI" image generation. "OPTING IN" is likewise very easy - it simply 're-adds' the datapoints to the training set for "ai" image generation.

Programatically VERY EASY to do - although it requires a bit of work to set up. And doing it this way more likely to have contributors WANTING to participate, as opposed to getting very upset/annoyed because it was simply "taken" from them.

THAT is much more along the lines of "responsible AI", with creators in mind at the "center". Not the "pay once to you, we benefit forever on your works" model which creates resentment, and actually discourages future image creation (which long term, will make a useless "AI" tool, as it quickly becomes outdated).

It also makes Adobe a HUGE amount of money going forward, with nice consistent revenue for very little effort or work, and happy contributors that benefit too.

"If you want to get at least some money for your work (and only we determine how much you get for your work) that you've invested years of your life into, then you have to let us do what we want with your work, pay you what we want, and trust us to do our best.
Of course, you're free to leave at any time and throw your years of work down the drain. You don't have many other realistic options for selling it anyway.
So, of course, you'll stay on with us until you help us raise your replacement.  Thank you for failing to form a guild or union.  "

Will this be a recurring payment (once/twice yearly)? Or only when a new data set is required for learning?

Thanks

I got 200$. Pretty happy

Mat, do I understand this correctly, that the payment is solely based on portfolio sice and sales, not on whether the images were actully used to train your AI? Because if that's the case  that basically means that someone who has not done a single real photo or illustration in all his life, but has only created tons of AI content based off other people's hard work also got the "compensation". So they basically got PAID for generating AI images based off the work of people who never got paid for it.
That's a far cry from Adobe's statement that you were "developing generative AI responsibly, with creators at the center."

The initial bonus is based on the all-time total number of approved images you submitted to Adobe Stock and the number of licenses that those images generated in the 12-month period between June 3rd, 2022 to June 2nd, 2023. The bonus is weighted towards license.

-Mat Hayward

I got a huge payment.

I don't know how I feel about it, but I tried out Firefly using some prompts and some of the content is still in early stages.

It's not good enough to directly compete with my work just yet, but man, it is a bit scary to see what it can do.

Many thanks Matt

I got my bonus and I was like WOW...thank you! I appreciate the fact that once again Adobe treats their stock contributors well and did this. I appreciate it so much!