>
Art and AI are making headlines again, but this time it’s not about robot-generated masterpieces.
Instead, it’s Adobe’s content analytics policy in the firing line. Social media users highlighted how the Photoshop developer uses content stored on its servers: it seems Adobe uses it for training AI.
In response, a wave of users began listing ways to lock down privacy settings across the suite Creative cloud and Document cloud apps. Even the team behind it free drawing software Krita joined the Twitter storm, describing Adobe’s actions as “ew”.
Adobe content analytics
The online pushback began when Adobe added content analytics to data collection permissions, forcing users to opt out of the controversial plan.
In a scattered screenshot, the new option explains: “Adobe may analyze your content using techniques such as machine learning to develop and improve our products and services. If you would rather not have Adobe analyze your files to develop and you can opt out of content analysis at any time. This setting does not apply in limited circumstances.”
Without disabling this option, creatives could unwittingly discover that their work is being used to train algorithms.
However, this is not a new policy. The original text can be found at the Frequently Asked Questions (opens in new tab)last updated in August 2022. There the company further explains:
“Adobe mainly uses machine learning in Creative Cloud and Document Cloud to analyze your content. Machine learning describes a subset of artificial intelligence where a computer system uses algorithms to analyze and learn from data without human intervention to draw conclusions from patterns and make predictions.”
Artificial intelligence has been one of Adobe’s biggest successes in recent years. Dubbed Adobe Sensei, it runs through everything from Acrobat until Premiere Prodelivering higher quality output through a more accessible creative tool stack.
As it turns out—perhaps unsurprisingly—Sensei’s secret sauce is user content. This includes Adobe Stock, Adobe Expressand Light room submissions, beta participation and enhancement programs, and processing of the structural elements of PDFs.
In response to the outcry, an Adobe spokesperson told multiple publications that users remain in control of their privacy preferences and settings, reiterating that this was a longstanding policy. So that’s okay then.