Getty Images, the renowned stock media company, revealed its latest offering, Generative AI by iStock, during this week's CES 2024. This innovative service utilizes artificial intelligence models trained on Getty's extensive iStock stock photography and video libraries to create new licensable images and artwork. Developed to prevent the reproduction of known copyrighted elements, such as products, people, and places, the service incorporates technology from Nvidia and supports 75 languages. Generative AI by iStock can both modify existing images and generate entirely new ones, with the option for integration into existing applications and plugins through an API. The pricing for this service is set at $15 for every 100 generated images.

Grant Farhall, iStock's Chief Product Officer, emphasized the primary objective of Generative AI by iStock, which is to provide customers with an affordable and straightforward means to incorporate AI into their creative processes. The service aims to eliminate concerns about inadvertently including legally protected content in their work. Getty's announcement comes amid an intensifying copyright debate related to AI technologies.

The debate centers around the tendency of GenAI models, like those used by Getty, to reproduce copyrighted material without explicit permission or proper compensation. Noted AI critic Gary Marcus and visual effects artist Reid Southen highlighted this issue, emphasizing the lack of publicly available tools to determine potential copyright infringement. Some GenAI developers argue protection under fair use doctrine, but legal disputes in the art community suggest a complex and unsettled matter.

Artists have filed lawsuits against companies like Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt, accusing them of copyright infringement through the use of GenAI models. Getty Images itself has sued Stability AI for allegedly copying and processing millions of images owned by Getty. In response to potential legal challenges, Generative AI by iStock offers a safety net: each licensed visual generated by a customer comes with $10,000 in legal coverage, serving as a last resort for copyright-related disputes, according to Getty.