(Credit: Barbara Alper/Contributor via Getty Images)
Adobe has removed the filter for "generative AI" content when searching with the words "Ansel Adams," but the AI toggle still appears for other more generic searches after the famous photographer's estate told Adobe it was frustrated to find AI-generated images for sale using Adams' name on Adobe Stock. The estate has been dealing with Adobe since August last year, The Verge first reported.
"Adobe you are officially on our last nerve with this behavior," Adams' Threads account, which is run by his estate, posted on Friday along with a screenshot of the offending images.
The screenshot shows six different black-and-white AI-generated images that mimic Adams' style. One has the label "Nature's Symphony: Ansel Adams-Style Landscape Photophraphy AI Generated." Stock users were able to license the image for free with a subscription or opt for an extended license for about $80, but none of this money would have been going to Adams' estate.
Adobe responded on Saturday saying it had removed the AI-generated, Adams-inspired content. "Thank you for flagging as this goes against our Generative AI content policy," Adobe wrote. "We're glad our team was able to remove the content. We reach out via IG DM to share a way to get in touch directly in the future."
Adobe's generative AI policies tell users to be "respectful of third-party rights" and avoid generating content that could violate someone else's copyrighted content or use someone's personal information (like a name).
"It's past time to stop wasting resources that don't belong to you," the estate said in its response.
A quick PCMag test Monday shows that searches for Ansel Adams still display photographs from other artists—mainly photos taken in the official Ansel Adams Wilderness area in California—but nothing that bears the AI-generated label. It's impossible to filter Adobe Stock results with "Generative AI Only" if searching Adams' full name, but a workaround test shows that Adobe appears to have removed all AI-generated content with the photographer's name. It's possible more creators could add more offending content in the future, however, and it's unclear whether Adobe will take a more proactive approach to image removal going forward.
"Thank you to Adobe for removing the latest round of AI-generated Adobe Stock image listings that improperly referenced Ansel Adams," the photographer's estate said over the weekend. "We expect that it will stick this time."
The estate added that it's not against artists "taking inspiration" from Adams' work, but "strenuously" rejects any "unauthorized use of his name to sell products of any kind, including digital products" like AI-generated outputs. The estate also takes issue with any AI content that bears Adams' name in its title, labels, or advertising, even if the AI model wasn't actually trained on Adams' work or mentioned in the initial generative prompt.
Reached for comment, Adobe tells PCMag via email that it takes a "multi-layered, continuous review and moderation approach to block and remove content" that violates its terms and reviews all Stock content before it goes live. Adobe also says it's since shut down the user account that submitted the Adams-inspired AI images.
The Adams Estate's latest exchange with Adobe is just one of many examples of how artists and those managing their legacies are frustrated with the slew of AI-generated work being made using their names or drawing from their bodies of work without their consent. AI training datasets and outputs have already spawned a number of copyright lawsuits, from artists objecting to Stable Diffusion toThe New York Times suing OpenAI and a group of authors suing Nvidia.
Adams isn't the only photographer whose name has been used to sell Adobe Stock, images, however. PCMag found generative AI images in the style of photographers like Roger Deakins, Helmut Newton, and others lingering on Adobe's site. All of these images can be licensed through an Adobe subscription or for $80 under the extended license. Asked about these images, Adobe tells PCMag it may remove them and shut down contributor accounts if the images violate its policies.
Like many tech firms, Adobe has been heavily promoting its generative AI tools and continues to push for AI development. In April, Adobe started buying videos for cheap to train its Sora competitor. The company has already released AI tools like Firefly, its AI Assistant for Acrobat, and AI tools for Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and Illustrator.
Editor's Note: This story has been update to include comment from Adobe.