Getty Images is partnering with Nvidia to launch Generative AI by Getty Images, a new tool that lets people create images using Getty’s library of licensed photos.
Generative AI by Getty Images (yes, it’s an unwieldy name) is trained only on the vast Getty Images library, including premium content, giving users full copyright indemnification. This means anyone using the tool and publishing the image it created commercially will be legally protected, promises Getty.
I last wrote about Getty back in February when they filed a lawsuit against Stability AI at the same time their largest competitor, Shutterstock, announced their own image generation service. I was in favor of their strategy at the time. Generative AI presented a clear opportunity for differentiation. It seemed as though they were positioning themselves to be stringent supporters of human-made art:
My knee-jerk reaction is to say that Getty is behind the times here but, after thinking about this a little bit more, I am less sure about that.
If Shutterstock starts re-licensing AI generated images, why would you pay for them instead paying of OpenAI or Midjourney directly? More to the point, why not use Stable Diffusion to generate images, for free, on your own computer?
Getty Images, on the other hand, gets to be the anti-AI company selling certified human-made images. I can see that being a valuable niche for some time to come.
Do you just need an obligatory feature image to slap on top of your SEO-bait blog post? Go to Shutterstock or DALL-E or any of the hundreds of fly-by-night AI image generation services. If you want to Support Human Artists, however, Getty is the only place to go.
With today’s announcement Getty has abandoned their opportunity for differentiation. I’ll be interested to see who steps up to fill that role.