I got an access to one of the tool and the results I am seeing are mind blowing.
An artist who takes days to get the job done... is now happens in few clicks.

I am not in support of AI but the awesome results are making me bit lean towards it.

I am really concerned as this is very initial stage and is ready to kill jobs for photographer, concept artist, texture artist, digital painters, matte painters etc.

Huge dark clouds ahead.

Progress is not killing jobs.
It just moves them elsewhere, where scarce resources are utilized more efficiently.

At best it will add another creative asset class. Especially for artsy book cover content.

But it has legal and copyright issues.

Obviously all agencies will have their own ai tool at some point.

Quote from: cobalt on September 16, 2022, 05:03
Obviously all agencies will have their own ai tool at some point.

This will be for sure.
Soon there will be first tests, giving buyer otpion to create their own unique images instead of doing database search.
For tomatoes on white background will be the end, but for more complex images there will be always space for human work; also editorial will still have life.

There are a couple of big issues in AI:

It's not so easy for buyer to give an exact description; probably most of the buyer only search for a subject without exact idea of the way in which they want to see it. AI works well only if you give detailed descriptions.

About legal issue, I don't think an agency can use its own database to feed AI learning. Maybe some will offer a fee to authors. Once the feed issue will be solved, also legal issues about ownership of new images will be solved as well.

So there are some questionable points, but I'm sure that they will be managed and soon we'll see an option in search page, something like "describe and create your own original unique image"

"It's not so easy for buyer to give an exact description; probably most of the buyer only search for a subject without exact idea of the way in which they want to see it. "

Exactly. A lot of times people will look for something without knowing exactly what they want. They're looking for a Christmas background and after several pages, ah, that's what I want. But if you were to ask them to describe what they want before seeing anything... not so easy. Creatives don't just create the image, they come up with the idea... and for non-creative types, that is just as hard if not harder than creating the actual image.

Mind you, I'd have thought those who produce white background imagery would still make money. They'd sell them to the AI software companies who store them as reference and would either buy them exclusively or, as a per usage in an each AI created image.

Nobody's killing anything. Results are out there for everyone to see and those that are cherry picked are mildly impressive. Technology displacement will make some jobs redundant eventually and will create new ones, like it did many times before. So please stop with this doom and gloom clickbait nonsense

Quote from: thx9000 on September 16, 2022, 10:01
Nobody's killing anything. Results are out there for everyone to see and those that are cherry picked are mildly impressive. Technology displacement will make some jobs redundant eventually and will create new ones, like it did many times before. So please stop with this doom and gloom clickbait nonsense

I completely agree. I can add that I'm working with AI for almost a month now with great fun:it is another tool, multifaceted and there is a lot to learn to master and to build your own style.
I'm also lucky to have developed software for so many years and this helps to understand how to move to get results. AI is continuously learning and in one year I expect the developments will be huge. Better to be ready 

https://www.microstockgroup.com/general-big-6/dall-e-2-will-make-us-all-redundant/msg577732/#msg577732

Quote from: melastmohican on September 16, 2022, 15:17

It already has, look at the way people drool on their keyboards over FB, Redit and those kind of sites. They don't seem to realize that We Are The Product and provide free information that they use to sell to marketers. (That I'm bitter that all the Gen have taken over and Baby Boomers are considered old and irrelevant?  ) We're unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true. But we have revisionist history, dumbing down of reality and cancel culture.

Hawking said, "the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race." In an interview with the BBC Hawking said A.I. poses no threat to the human race today but could in the future as machines -- specifically robots -- become smarter, bigger and stronger than their human developers.

Yeah why worry so much about climate change, the robots are going to take over everything anyway?

rather than AI threat to a minor field of stock photography (where 'good enough' is a goal AI will meet) - here's a larger view

https://www.cold-takes.com/ai-could-defeat-all-of-us-combined/

And so it begins:
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/09/artists-begin-selling-ai-generated-artwork-on-stock-photography-websites/

Quote from: SVH on September 18, 2022, 09:22
And so it begins:
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/09/artists-begin-selling-ai-generated-artwork-on-stock-photography-websites/

slow claps for all the defenders

Maybe there's an opportunity to use our own portfolios, to generate thousands more AI images and videos? We also have a head start on anyone just getting into selling images. AI won't be much use for some things, like editorial photos. I intend to use it, and work in areas where it won't be much use.

I've uploaded this particular AI image created by DALLE2 throughout and testing the results.

Quality is pretty bad (particularly after up-sizing) so I suspect that it will be rejected by all, but interesting to see either way.

Love the missing fingertips, I wonder what the AI backstory for that would be?

Quote from: Brasilnut on September 18, 2022, 12:50
I've uploaded this particular AI image created by DALLE2 throughout and testing the results.

Quality is pretty bad (particularly after up-sizing) so I suspect that it will be rejected by all, but interesting to see either way.

I have seen these AI tool are not so good in creating human figures. Look at the model hands, those doesn't feels natural to me.
But since it is still learning, in couple of months or years it will generate very perfect image. This is not the end, its beginning of AI.

Quote from: sharpshot on September 18, 2022, 13:04
Love the missing fingertips, I wonder what the AI backstory for that would be?

"proud, overweight woman, posing, full length wearing tight clothes, feminist"

Should I upload my seagull sheep? Far from killing the industry, I think this opens up subjects I had never thought of before

There's a quickly diminishing amount of creative/artist jobs already and this will just accelerate the decline. Once this is perfected over the next 5-10 years stock agencies will adopt AI and have little need for contributors. Free money for them and less of having to deal with us. AI wont kill the industry but it will be a big shift much like macro to micro. People will need to adjust to the shift and find a profitable niche. Editorial cant be replaced by AI.

I wonder how many buyers will want images that are authentic and real versus artificial.

What tools are you using? Has anyone tried putting the (uncommon) name of a microstock photographer and the full title of some of their images? Wondering what happens when you limit the pool it can draw from.

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on September 18, 2022, 14:34
There's a quickly diminishing amount of creative/artist jobs already and this will just accelerate the decline. Once this is perfected over the next 5-10 years stock agencies will adopt AI and have little need for contributors. Free money for them and less of having to deal with us. AI wont kill the industry but it will be a big shift much like macro to micro. People will need to adjust to the shift and find a profitable niche. Editorial cant be replaced by AI.

I wonder how many buyers will want images that are authentic and real versus artificial.

Eventually there will be an agency with no artists where the buyer types in what they want and gets a selection of AI images to choose from.

Quote from: alan b traehern on September 18, 2022, 15:10

Eventually there will be an agency with no artists where the buyer types in what they want and gets a selection of AI images to choose from.

But that's already here and pretty much what people are talking about here.

Quote from: sharpshot on September 18, 2022, 14:23
Should I upload my seagull sheep? Far from killing the industry, I think this opens up subjects I had never thought of before

Far currently, but will soon reach.
Accept the reality, AI is a continuous self learning program, everyday it is getting smarter.

The foundation is strong, and soon it will cover all the sectors.

Quote from: Firn on September 18, 2022, 15:13

Quote from: alan b traehern on September 18, 2022, 15:10

Eventually there will be an agency with no artists where the buyer types in what they want and gets a selection of AI images to choose from.

But that's already here and pretty much what people are talking about here.

What agency has make a request and get an AI image assortment? I haven't seen that yet, but I think that will be part of the future. No artists at all at that one.

Where is it already here?