PROTECT YOUR IMAGES FROM AI

Pandora's box is open and, for better or worse, Alis here to stay. Here’s how you can protect your images from being used to train Al models without your permission

- Dan Mold

Artificial Intelligence, or Al, is a term that we've been hearing a lot about in recent years - but what exactly is it? I wish there was a straightforward answer, but the short version is it's become a buzzword for clever software trained on large sets of data to create algorithms with varied uses. The term AI is a broad church for many different programs - from General Al, used in OpenAl's ChatGPT to mimic human-like text and problem-solving, to Narrow Al, for tasks such as a camera's facial recognition or autofocus algorithms.

Then there's Generative Al, found in textto-image generators including Dall-E and Midjourney. Adobe Firefly also integrates Generative Al, using deep learning to add or remove elements from a photo or extend its parameters with lifelike results. The uncanny valley has never been closer.

Like any technological advancement, there are pros and cons to Al. It's now easier than ever before for novices to make tricky editing tweaks that were previously only achievable by professionals with many years of experience. We can also use AI tools like Midjourney to provide us with new image inspiration or ask ChatGPT to help us plan our social media posts for the whole week. The main drawback is consent, and making sure your images haven't been stolen or used to train AI programs to profit off your images without your permission.

In this article, we'll look at some of the best practices when uploading your images online, help you find out if they've been used without your permission, and show you how to protect your portfolio from theft.

A legal can of worms

Generative AI programs that can create pictures by drawing from a vast library of images are still in their infancy, with software such as Dall-E coming out in 2021 and Midjourney dropping the following year.