Getty Images built a “socially responsible” AI tool that rewards artists

Enlarge / Craig Peters, CEO of Getty Images, speaks onstage during Vox Media's 2023 Code Conference. (credit: Jerod Harris / Stringer | Getty Images North America)

Getty Images CEO Craig Peters told the Verge that he has found a solution to one of AI's biggest copyright problems: creators suing because AI models were trained on their original works without consent or compensation. To prove it's possible for AI makers to respect artists' copyrights, Getty built an AI tool using only licensed data that's designed to reward creators more and more as the tool becomes more popular over time.

"I think a world that doesn’t reward investment in intellectual property is a pretty sad world," Peters told The Verge.

The conversation happened at Vox Media's Code Conference 2023, with Peters explaining why Getty Images—which manages "the world’s largest privately held visual archive"—has a unique perspective on this divisive issue.