As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, its capabilities continue to astonish us. One area in which AI has made significant strides is image generation. With this capability, there is a growing debate regarding the obsolescence of stock images. Will AI replace stock images altogether?
Understanding Stock Images
Stock images, including photos, illustrations (pixel and vector), videos, and audio, have been widely used in various forms of media. This is due to the convenience and ease of licensing these images compared to the cost and effort of creating unique images.
The Emergence of AI Image Generation
AI image generation is the process where a machine learning model, like GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks), can produce realistic images from scratch. This technology is still in its infancy but is quickly evolving, making it a potential game-changer in the field of visual design.
The Drawbacks of Stock Images
Visual designers often need a series of images consistent in style and color palette but diverse in subject matter. This variety is needed to tell a story across a presentation or video. With stock images, designers often struggle to find a consistent series to pull from, leading to time-consuming work creating these images manually.
The Potential of AI Image Generation
AI image generation can solve this problem by generating a series of images based on specified style, color palette, and subject matter. This can be a significant time-saver and efficiency-booster for designers. However, consistency and user control remain challenges with current AI engines. Adobe and other companies are actively working to solve these issues, making this technology even more promising.
Drawbacks of AI Generated Stock Images
I’ve used AI art & stock generation frequently for this website. It’s a mixed bag of but if you try enough phrase variations you’ll eventually receive an acceptable result.
Here are a few examples of AI generated stock images of “happy people at the beach”
Future of Stock Images
While AI image generation poses a substantial threat to the conventional stock image industry, it is important to note that we are not quite there yet. The ability to generate high-quality, diverse, and consistent images is still under development. Nevertheless, major stock outlets are already bracing for the shift, with Getty partnering with Bria, and Shutterstock collaborating with OpenAI.
In conclusion, while AI image generation certainly has the potential to disrupt the stock image industry, the obsolescence of stock images is not imminent. However, it is undeniable that the landscape of visual design is poised for a significant change.
Related Articles
