Adobe Addresses Controversy Surrounding AI-Generated Images of Gaza Explosion

Just a week after President Biden’s Executive Order emphasized the potential societal harms of AI, including disinformation, Adobe responded to a controversy involving an AI-generated stock image of a Gaza explosion. This image was used by several small blogs and websites without proper labeling as AI-generated.

The Australian news outlet Crikey initially reported this incident, prompting significant backlash on X (formerly Twitter).

An Adobe spokesperson addressed the outrage with this statement:

“Adobe Stock is a marketplace that mandates all generative AI content to be labeled accordingly when licensed. These specific images were properly labeled as generative AI both at submission and licensing, in compliance with our requirements. We believe it’s essential for customers to know which Adobe Stock images are created using generative AI tools.

Adobe is dedicated to combating misinformation. Through the Content Authenticity Initiative, we collaborate with publishers, camera manufacturers, and other stakeholders to promote the adoption of Content Credentials, including in our own products. Content Credentials allow users to view important information about how digital content was captured or created, including whether AI tools were involved.”

Adobe Stock's Focus

Adobe Stock, described as a service providing access to millions of high-quality, royalty-free images, is less known for editorial imagery compared to competitors like Getty Images, which has a dedicated section for such content.

While Adobe Stock previously offered editorial assets, including millions of Reuters photos and videos in 2017, it has since ceased to do so. Instead, Adobe focuses on the storytelling potential of its stock imagery, both traditional and AI-generated. An August 2022 post on Adobe’s website differentiates “illustrative editorial” from traditional editorial content. Illustrative editorial is characterized as “conceptual imagery designed to illustrate articles on current events and newsworthy topics.” Adobe clarifies that it does not accept traditional editorial content.

For illustrative editorial, Adobe does not accept images featuring recognizable individuals, tight crops of copyrighted or trademarked material, or digitally manipulated versions of brand logos, among other restrictions.

Previous Concerns with Generative AI

The controversy over the Gaza image is not Adobe Stock's first encounter with issues relating to generative AI. In June, a report highlighted concerns from contributors about Adobe's Firefly model, which was purportedly trained on a vast collection of stock images—approximately 300 million—without explicit consent. Creators expressed concern that the rise of generative AI images on Adobe Stock threatens to diminish sales of traditional stock images.

In response, an Adobe spokesperson stated, “Adobe Stock respects the rights of third parties and requires all stock contributors to comply with our terms, including those related to the use of generative AI tools.”