Shutterstock announces AI plans with OpenAI
Creative platform Shutterstock, Inc. unveiled its plan to launch its AI-generated content capabilities “in a manner that is responsible and transparent for its customers and contributors,” according to the announcement. “In expanding its partnership with OpenAI, launching a fund to compensate artists for their contributions, and focusing its R-and-D machine on gathering and publishing insights related to AI-generated content, Shutterstock positions itself at the forefront of emerging technology — supercharging ethical, creative storytelling for all.”
“The mediums to express creativity are constantly evolving and expanding. We recognize that it is our great responsibility to embrace this evolution and to ensure that the generative technology that drives innovation is grounded in ethical practices,” said Paul Hennessy, CEO at Shutterstock. “We have a long history of integrating AI into every part of our business. This expert-level competency makes Shutterstock the ideal partner to help our creative community navigate this new technology. And we’re committed to developing best practices and experiences to deliver on our purpose, which is to empower the world to create with confidence.”
This collaboration introduces OpenAI’s image generation capabilities to Shutterstock audiences worldwide, offering customers the ability to instantly generate images based upon the criteria they type in. This agreement further deepens the strategic partnership between Shutterstock and OpenAI, which began in 2021.
“The data we licensed from Shutterstock was critical to the training of DALL-E,” said Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO. “We’re excited for Shutterstock to offer DALL-E images to its customers as one of the first deployments through our API, and we look forward to future collaborations as artificial intelligence becomes an integral part of artists’ creative workflows.”
When this integration launches on Shutterstock.com in the coming months, customers will receive direct access to these AI image generation capabilities improving their creative workflows. In turn, Shutterstock contributors will be compensated for the role their content played in the development of this technology.