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Messages - Lina

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51
https://www.reuters.com/technology/musk-experts-urge-pause-training-ai-systems-that-can-outperform-gpt-4-2023-03-29/

Maybe AI creators are slowly coming to their senses (or they are forced to think twice): "The letter, issued by the non-profit Future of Life Institute and signed by more than 1,000 people including Musk, called for a pause on advanced AI development until shared safety protocols for such designs were developed, implemented and audited by independent experts."

Will they "regulate" Chinese AI too? Which will gain leverage during the "pause"?

What AI would you rather submit to? English-speaking or Chinese-speaking? :P

It all is rather scary indeed :)


Frankly, I don't care much more for USA than China regarding this issue.

52
https://www.reuters.com/technology/musk-experts-urge-pause-training-ai-systems-that-can-outperform-gpt-4-2023-03-29/

Maybe AI creators are slowly coming to their senses (or they are forced to think twice): "The letter, issued by the non-profit Future of Life Institute and signed by more than 1,000 people including Musk, called for a pause on advanced AI development until shared safety protocols for such designs were developed, implemented and audited by independent experts."

53
Pope created by Midjourney... I think this is scary, opens many possibilities for scammers of all kinds.

https://www.reddit.com/r/midjourney/comments/120vhdc/the_pope_drip/

Lets not be alarmist. You could clone the face of the  Pope on anything for about 30 years, and now AI is going to doom us to fakes and frauds. Not even good ones at that? ...

Bad hands, bad mug, another deformed finger, glasses are not right, Crucifix looks like a cheap trinket, three fingers on the left hand.

True, I didn't look in detail. Yes, it could be done with PS, but it requires pretty serious skill plus it is incredibly hard to find matching images to make proper photomanipulation. You know, with same perspective, shot with similar focal length etc. So I didn't see many realistic manipulations with famous people, more like memes or caricatures etc. This is easier to do and more available to masses.
Here is one more (made with AI, of course).

54
Notice how even here, whenever Mat announces something new, he will always just reply to questions and comments stricly related to the technical aspect of a feature and ignore every single question and comment about user actual concerns or morality aspects of what Adobe was doing.

I can't recall that Adobe has ever seeked out conversation with contributors about anything, before we were getting presented the end result - Free galleries, currency changes, our images being used to train AI that will make our images worthless - there has never been any kind of "conversation" prior to annoucing the final decision and the "conversation" that took place after that were alwas one-sided with Adobe pretty much ignoring our concerns.

Very true. And if you accuse Mat of corporate speak then he is offended :)

I do think they listen in via Mat. I actually think that Adobe didn't want to prolong the bonus program but because here, and probably at other places as well, we made a fuzz about it and so they caved in, in the end. Not to lose face and they sure will have weighted the costs versus the potential reputation damage.

But it annoys me too that when you ask something else then a technical question you never hear an answer. Concerns are maybe listened to but certainly not replied to.

And since they are a company (maximum profit seeking) it annoys me that they pretend to be an NGO sometimes only to support artists at all times while in reality they are not. But I guess lot of people fall for that kind of talk. At least here, I see many of them. But you can also see them when you join some of their live Behance meetings. Some actually seem groupies and completely believe in Adobes fantasy tale :)

And remember there is no them without us but not exactly as how they mean it. It's more that if we don't buy their products or deliver content to them then there is no them. That part is definitely true.

Yup, I'm so glad somebody said that. I see it too and often feel like traitor if I dare to say something against Adobe. Because looks that many people think they really care for us.

55
Pope created by Midjourney... I think this is scary, opens many possibilities for scammers of all kinds.

https://www.reddit.com/r/midjourney/comments/120vhdc/the_pope_drip/

56
I don't understand this worshipping of AI. Even if it gets so much better, it will still produce thumbnail size crappy quality images.

have you actually looked at any of these apps? they produce quality images accepted by AS & DT (and previously by SS). they sell.  images start at 1000x1000 - hardly thumbnail!  and easily upsized with no loss of quality

Yes, I know they are accepted by some sites. And yup, I tried it but not too much, I admit. Even at 1000x1000 px they look like they are already upscaled from some smaller size. With all strict rules for reviewing photos and illustrations, now it is at least surprising that MS sites are accepting images upscaled so much that pixels are falling apart. OK, maybe not the case with ALL examples, but that's what I saw so far.

57

I don't understand this worshipping of AI. Even if it gets so much better, it will still produce thumbnail size crappy quality images.

So far that's true.

Do these AI images get downloads or are they just filling up space?

According to AS Recent Top sellers, they are selling well. And yeah, "lovely" swedish nurses. For Halloween. :D

58
I don't understand this worshipping of AI. Even if it gets so much better, it will still produce thumbnail size crappy quality images.

59
The people paying for the software are unlikely to be contributors... and if they are, most likely using some other software that is cheaper as they're not making as much money from it.

I think most contributors use Adobe CC to some extent, actually. Most contributors (like me) do microstock part-time but use Adobe CC for other types of work (video editing, animation, photography, illustration, music/sound design...)

And most pass the low minimum of 250 dls per year to receive free software. Thats why I said that people paying for the software are unlikely to be contributors.
Amazing.... as if we would complain if we were not paying for software.

60
Not Just AS but I'd rather see the option to buy goods in the local currency of the company. That way I'd receive a charge from the bank for the conversion less a fee. It would make a load of goods cheaper to people in the UK/EU when buying from the US etc. And, to be fair, the other way round as well. I know of a lot of high end gear made in the UK costs a lot more than the exchange rate in the US.

Companies with physical items have the excuse that they charge extra due to logistics, getting the items to your door etc but with non physical goods that can be downloaded over the internet, parity exchange rates whether it's the Euro or doesn't stack up as easily. There maybe additional costs involved but I'd imagine they're making extra from some non US citizens with their software.

That said, market value is determined by its users as well. If people weren't happy about it they could go elsewhere and if enough do then it may bring down the price. For me, even if I wasn't getting it for free I'd still pay for the software as the difference in exchange rates is very small indeed compared to the benefits gained from the use of the software. I work faster with their software and time is. money and as such, that difference melts away within an hour or two.

Yep, we finally agree on something. :) Yes, there is not much excuse for higher prices of downloaded goods because costs can't be so much different but often companies raise prices for non-US customers. Although in EU countries is VAT usually added and I don't know if some tax is included in USA prices so it's hard to compare.

Going elsewhere from Adobe's software is sadly not so easy. It is "industry standard" so other clients and designers are using their software, competition softwares are only partially compatible or not at all. So if someone is exchanging lot of files with clients, it is simply not possible to use something else.

61

thieves.

? Bizare comment... a US company pays you in US $ for you to convert into your own currency at the official exchange rate and you call them thieves?


...while the same US company charges its EU customers in a higher price.

It's a bit sad to see how fiercly you are defending Adobe's latest actions, just because you and a very few people from one single country profit from it, when you very well know that in the whole sheme it means Adobe pays out much less of what it gets from customers to its contributors and this is just a sheme to maximaze profit on the backs of contributors.

And the same company gives away its software to contributors for free with only 250 downloads in a year! Hardly the action of thives.

The people paying for the software are unlikely to be contributors... and if they are, most likely using some other software that is cheaper as they're not making as much money from it.

What grinds me here (rather than defending AS), is the entitlement of some people that their $ should continue to be worth more than a $ is worth back in the US... Imagine if the rest of the worlds Euros were worth more than yours?!?

In business, export import, which effectively is what we are working in... exporting images to a US agency, you have to deal with currency exchange rates. Every other import/export business in the world lives by the exchange rate and the fees they're charged by the bank.

So, this is less about defending AS and more about questioning the self-entitlement of some who think they're above the system.

I am contributor and I am buying Adobe's software, I guess I am not the only one. As a buyer, I am disappointed in their policies in many ways, but that's another story.

Regarding currency change, although it was in our eurozone favor until now, I always found weird FT/AS 1= 1 calculation instead of using normal exchange rate. And now, I think no one would complain if they announced that from now on official exchange rate will be used. They are already dealing with different currencies because of software so I don't believe either that this change will simplify their accounting.

62
It is so unbelievably disgusting. Even bigger problem than usual I guess is because images should be exclusive.

64
I think possible antitrust lawsuit might be better reason to cut expenses than trying to pay contributors equally, but of course I can be wrong.

65
Effectively a 10% paycut for all contributors outside the USA factoring in the conversion and rates from paypal etc.

Not a good look.  Commission reduction via the back door.

So effectively people who got paid in dollars were making 10% less than the rest of the world all this time? When do we get compensated for the inequity that gave you more than us? 🤔 😈

You should ask Adobe, european contributors didn't take anything from you. Plus currently it is around 10% with conversion to euro, which you don't need to do.

66
From my point of view i see a benefit being paid in USD.
Probably its just my opinion but i think inflation will get worse in Europe next years.
USD will do better. The 3% PayPal currency exchange rate is annoying but maybe it will be better to keep income in USD at PayPal.
Just if you don't need the microstock money every month at your Euro bank account.

If that really happens and $ becomes much stronger than , I could bet that AS won't keep 1 = 1 ratio for these currencies.

I get your point but its Unlikely theyre paying you a dollar so it doesnt cost them any more or less. Theyre saving by reducing red tape, staff and systems converting currency in house. Its the bank / payment system that takes on that job and takes a % cut by offering a slightly less favourable conversion rate.

Well, they are still charging buyers in , so I guess they are not saving that much, they still have to do some conversions. And I believe it goes mostly automatically these days, not that they calculating by hand so it needs so many resources.

67
From my point of view i see a benefit being paid in USD.
Probably its just my opinion but i think inflation will get worse in Europe next years.
USD will do better. The 3% PayPal currency exchange rate is annoying but maybe it will be better to keep income in USD at PayPal.
Just if you don't need the microstock money every month at your Euro bank account.

If that really happens and $ becomes much stronger than , I could bet that AS won't keep 1 = 1 ratio for these currencies.

68
If they keep their euro plans at the same rates as the usd ones after the change we should make a lot of noise on social media. Damnn, I wish we had some sort of union

I took a look and I am not sure if big price difference is actually because of our VAT. If you exclude VAT, it is still cheaper in $, but difference is not so big, around 30 or so for All Apps. At least for software, for AS pricing I couldn't find prices in $.

69
If so, for their eurozone sales, eurozone contributors will be underpaid the same way non-eurozone contributors were underpaid since the early Fotolia days.

True, except you don't have convert to other currency and lose again.

70
I know that Fotolia use to sell to European customers in euros.
Is it still the case for AS?
Of course it is. For example 40 credits pack costs 337,49 including VAT (which can be  different depending on country). Right now I can't see from phone how much it is in USA and in $ but it was cheaper as far as I know.

71
I am really trying hard to make a living with microstock, but whenever I have some little sucess in getting closer to my goal, an agency always finds a way to destroy whatever little progress I have been making in income by some new greedy sheme. As if the crazy inflation hasn't been bad enough already. I start to feel like, the more I work, the less money I get and I can't work fast and hard enough to make up for all the reductions in income agencies are throwing at me.

Exactly... one step forward - two steps back, all the time.

72
I am very curious how is it going for you, selling directly?

No, I do not sell stock photography directly. Too much competition.

I started working with companies and professionals (wineries, architects, hotels ...) in my area.

And then, I sell prints directly through my website and art galleries. But you must work with marketing - blog (the most important for building a personal brand), SEO, Social media ... -.

And you must have very high-quality work. But that's not enough, you have to be well-known.

It's a very long journey; improvements are very slow to have some personal brand awareness.

Sometimes it's daunting, a lot of work for nothing.

So my instinct not to do it was correct, thank you!
Yeah, I believe it is very hard to create well-known personal brand, even if you have great work. Good luck! :)

73
@Noedelhap, I like your work very much and I can see why are you upset. I mean we all should be upset, but often I see that people with lower quality work are more forgiving to agencies BS.

It is now a continuous theft with all the agencies.

I've been doing stock full-time for 12 years, but in the last few years, I've been trying to do marketing to work more with commissioned jobs and selling prints.

I've shut down Canva, Envato Elements, and Istock for a few years for low fees.

In January, I earned $2400, but I did the math, and the agencies earned about $6500 from my photographs.

For almost $9,000 a month, I make less than 30%...it's not a fair job. Better do something else.

I am very curious how is it going for you, selling directly? I am thinking about that for some time, but I'm not sure is it worth to do it plus I'm so frustrated with MS algorithms, earnings etc. that I am not sure if anybody needs anything I can produce. It is oversupply of everything on Internet and it is only getting worse in my opinion.

74
So starting from March, an "old" 0,99 commission will be a $ 0.99 one?
Because in this case the cut would be even worst.

Yep, I understood so.

75
.."March 3rd, 2023 we will consolidate the different currencies in which royalties are paid and switch to US Dollars."..

Bad for me ,previously received euros, about -5% cut. Well great, not.
I think you can easily add some conversion fees into that, so it's more like a 10% cut..
Really bad - Adobe is the last agency that keeps microstock game alive for me and if it also starts to decline, there will be no more sense to keep microstock going  :-\
Yes, it's incredibly hard to stay motivated with all that exciting news...
I'm wondering why we don't have same treatment when we are buying Adobe's software - 1 $ = 1 ? Ah, never mind, I'm just tired of microstock all together.

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