Does AI generated imagery belong in employee communications?
The widespread use of AI-generated imagery in employee communications is around the corner, if not already here, and it offers some clear benefits. These text-to-image services allow HR teams to quickly and easily create custom images that meet their specific needs, and the increasing presence of AI-generated images in mainstream stock photo libraries suggests that they are becoming more accepted.
However, there are still some copyright concerns surrounding the use of AI-generated imagery, as the terms of use and copyright law in this area are still being developed and clarified. Despite the fact that companies are typically granted ownership of the images they create with AI, there may be other issues to consider when using these images in employee communications.
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Getting exactly the image you want
An appealing aspect of AI-generated artwork is that it can offer a level of customization and control that may not be possible with traditional stock libraries. If you’re looking for an image of a collection of workers at a particular time of day and at a specific angle, it may be difficult to find an existing image that matches your needs.
With AI-generated imagery, it is possible to specify the desired elements and have an algorithm create a unique image that meets those requirements. This can be especially useful for companies that have specific branding guidelines or that want to communicate complex concepts that are unique to their industry, but are not common enough to have their own section on iStockphoto yet. Keep in mind that the quality and realism of AI-generated images can vary. So if this is a route you’d like to take, the time spent refining a stock image search will soon be replaced with the time it takes to find that perfect text prompt.
Ease of use & access
Another positive quality of AI-generated imagery is that major companies, including Adobe Stock, Canva, and Microsoft, are partnering with AI providers to offer text-to-image capabilities in their software. This will make it easier for designers to create custom images using AI, and access to these kinds of tools is likely to become as common as searching for stock photos. As Derek Murphy put it, “If AI is already on Canva, on stock photo sites, everywhere, it’s going to become mainstream enough that people (paying clients) don’t have a problem with it.”
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Authorship and intellectual property
The biggest source of concern when it comes to AI-generated imagery is the question of who should be credited as the creator/owner of the work. In explaining their decision to exclude AI- generated artwork, Getty Images CEO Craig Peters told the Verge, “There are real concerns with respect to the copyright of outputs from these models and unaddressed rights issues with respect to the imagery, the image metadata and those individuals contained within the imagery.” Even though OpenAI’s content policy allows the person who prompted the image to reprint, sell, and merchandise generative art, there is currently a legal gray area as to where the AI engine got the images it was trained on. As Atreya Mathur wrote for the Center for Art Law, “There may be infringement claims on the final image based on copyrighted artworks inputted into the AI at the time of machine learning, which may infringe the rights of copyright holders.”
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Implicit bias
The potential for AI-generated imagery to perpetuate or amplify biases is a concern that is not unique to AI, but it is important to consider when using it in employee communications. Just as the selection of images in a stock library can reflect certain biases related to gender, ability, or race, AI algorithms can also reflect the biases of the data they are trained on, or the values of their creators. If you’re going to use AI-generated imagery to communicate with employees, consider whether it may reinforce harmful biases or stereotypes. To avoid this, take care to employ the same consideration for diversity when choosing text prompts as you do with a stock image search. This ensures that the resulting artwork is inclusive and respectful.
Transparency and Communication
If the benefits of using AI generated artwork, such as customization and ease of use, outweigh the legal uncertainties, just make sure to be transparent with employees about its use and to clearly communicate the role of the AI in its creation. In OpenAI’s terms of use, it states that creators who want to publish content created in part with the OpenAI API must disclose the role of AI in a way that is clearly visible to readers and easy to understand. By following these guidelines, companies can use AI generated artwork in an ethical and responsible way.
