Shutterstock Will Indemnify Generative AI Art Users Against Legal Trouble

Even as commonplace as artificial intelligence has become in the world, there are still concerns surrounding the ethics of the technology, especially when it comes to the use of text and image generators.

Just this week, comedian Sarah Silverman launched a lawsuit against OpenAI and Meta, alleging that the technology giant’s AI models were trained on her works without permission. It’s no wonder many creatives are hesitant about incorporating generative components just yet.

To quell this fear, stock image depository Shutterstock recently announced it would be offering customers of its image generators full indemnification, protecting them from any potential lawsuits that may be filed against them.

This comes as Adobe made a similar pledge last month, promising to “protect customers from third-party IP claims” about its Firefly generator’s outputs. The company even went as far as to brand itself the only “commercially safe generative AI” option.

“We’re at an inflection point in the use of generative AI technology as business professionals are seeking more assurance around their rights to legally use AI-generated content,” explained John Lapham, General Counsel at Shutterstock.

“We have always sought to manage risk for our customers and are uniquely positioned to bring a commercially viable image generator to market and indemnify its outputs, because of our relationship with artists and intimate understanding of the complexities of licensing,” he added.

The company noted that while AI-generated images created by Shutterstock customers are currently not reviewed, this indemnity pledge will allow users to license this content under the same protections without any additional risks.

[via PetaPixel and VentureBeat, cover image via RobertWei | Dreamstime.com]