Our guest on 'Tech Connects' is Dr. Rebecca Swift, Senior Vice President of Creative at Getty Images, a leading platform for visual content licensing. Getty Images provides millions of photographs, illustrations, and videos to businesses worldwide, with a focus on legally cleared, high-quality content. Rebecca oversees Getty's large creative team, including photographers, filmmakers, visual researchers, and producers who work to understand market trends and guide the company's creative community of over half a billion creators.
We dove deep into how AI-generated imagery is reshaping the visual content industry and what this means for both tech professionals and creative businesses. Rebecca shared fascinating insights about the rapid shift in public perception of AI content, the complex legal landscape surrounding AI-generated imagery, and how the creative industry is adapting to these technological changes.
Here are some quick takeaways from this discussion for any tech professionals working with visual content, AI tools, or creative teams:
Understand the Trust Factor in AI Content: The initial excitement around AI-generated imagery has quickly shifted to widespread distrust among consumers. While AI tools seemed revolutionary for their ability to visualize any concept, the proliferation of deepfakes and misleading content has made consumers skeptical of any imagery they can't verify as authentic. As a tech professional, recognize that trust is fundamental to brand relationships, and factor consumer sentiment into decisions about AI-generated content usage.
Navigate the Complex Legal Landscape of AI-Generated Content: The legal framework around AI imagery remains murky and evolving. Unlike human-created content, AI-generated images can't be copyrighted, only the prompts can be protected. Many AI tools are trained on web-scraped content without proper licensing, creating potential IP infringement risks for businesses. Consider working with services that provide proper licensing and legal safeguards rather than relying on open-source AI tools that may expose your organization to liability.
Leverage AI for Modification Rather Than Pure Generation: AI excels at modifying and iterating existing content rather than creating entirely new authentic imagery. For marketing teams that need multiple versions of campaigns or quick iterations, AI can be valuable for adaptation work. However, recognize that becoming proficient at AI prompting is a distinct skill that requires time and practice to develop effectively, especially for those with traditional creative backgrounds.
Embrace Authenticity as a Competitive Advantage: As AI-generated content becomes ubiquitous, there's a growing counter-trend toward authentic, locally-sourced, and uniquely human content. Tech professionals should consider how their organizations can differentiate through genuine human creativity, hyper-local content, and experiences that capture current realities that weren't well-represented in AI training datasets. Areas like remote work culture, environmental sustainability, and contemporary social dynamics present opportunities for authentic content creation.
There was a lot more in that chat, of course, so give it another listen if you feel so inclined. Thank you for joining us—and remember, Dice is your best resource to find the tech talent you need to fill your open roles, and for tech pros, the best place to grow your tech career.
