Firefly's Blurry Line: Adobe's AI Offering Is Facing Questions Over Human vs. AI-Generated Content

As Adobe Inc. ABDE prepares for the imminent launch of its Firefly artificial intelligence offering, a pressing and complex question looms: Can the company, or any entity for that matter, discern the distinction between AI-generated and human-created content?

What Happened: Adobe has maintained that Firefly, the company’s generative AI system that integrates with its Creative Cloud apps, responsibly employs openly licensed and public domain content. 

However, the computer software company struggles to identify AI-generated content from a pool of human-created material. ChatGPT-parent OpenAI previously acknowledged the same difficulty, as it discontinued the AI Classifier last month after admitting its remarkably low accuracy rate. 

See Also: Adobe Faces Regulatory Challenges for AI Expansion with Figma Acquisition: Analyst

For Adobe, the consequences are two-fold. 

First, it may inadvertently pay creators for AI-generated work, potentially undermining its compensation model for contributors. Second, the influx of unmarked AI content into Adobe Stock — Firefly’s primary training source — threatens the quality of the AI model, reported Business Insider, citing internal company documents. 

The documents suggested the company’s uncertainty about identifying AI-created assets. Managers have discouraged discussions on unintended payments and emphasized Firefly’s responsible data sources.

As Adobe prepares for a broader Firefly launch, it also faces inquiries regarding using copyrighted or unapproved content for training AI models, a concern that has trapped its competitors (such as Midjourney and Stability AI) in legal battles, the report noted.  

Additionally, the company appears to be considering allowing contributors to opt out of having their content used for Firefly’s training, further complicating the issue.

Adobe did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment. 

Why It’s Important: Previously, it was reported that employees at Adobe are concerned about the company’s AI tech putting jobs at risk. The Adobe staff is also worried that it may disrupt the company’s business model, a large part of which caters to graphic designers.

Image Source – Shutterstock

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