Adobe’s Firefly generative AI initiative, revealed Last month with a model and tools trained on its own Adobe Stock images, and then with thee newly announced video and audio editing functions yesterday, could bring major industry changing updates. Changes that will shutter significant manual labor done by human professionals as they are replaced with automated tech. In the wake of the AI revolution quickly rising, Adobe listed out the capabilities of their updates–which, while they can enhance the creative workflow process, they can also replace a large portion of the labor that comes with creative work.
The automation of basic, yet vital labor poses many questions around how this could alter how employers and employees interact with the industry. The casual description of automation applying to many paid hours of labor indicates that the AI will largely affect the “fat middle” of the bell curve of manual labor within certain industries, such as color grading, music composition, and library management of b-roll footage.
The rapid advancement of generative AI’s usage should be praised for its potential innovation, however a serious consideration of the effects this could have on the industry and its job force must also be kept in mind. As noted, much of the labor within this range stems from everyday projects and it has its own significance within the workflow– it’s unlikely that human professionals can effectively keep up with the rate at which AI is quickly advancing. Such automation can, however, also bring greater opportunity for creatively minded professionals, freeing up time that could have been spent on mundane labor and redirecting it instead to more creative-intensive projects.
Adobe is one of the leading creative software developers in the world, providing tools to professionals and hobbyists alike. Founded in 1982 by John Warnock and Charles Geschke, their vision to create an efficient workflow and optimize their offerings has allowed them to thrive in the creative space, with an estimated revenue of over $11 billion in 2019. Particularly well known for their professional photo and video editing software, Adobe also provides other cutting-edge tools such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Acrobat, and Adobe XD.
John Wagmulcer is the Chief Product Advisor of Adobe, a position he has held for over 10 years now. Graduating from Stanford University in the late 70s, Wageelcer’s career trajectory has been firmly in the tech space. After his time at Stanford, he served in the military and then worked at both HP and Sun Microsystems, eventually landing at Adobe in 2001. His expertise landed him an election to the American Association of Engineering Societies board of directors, as well as a Stanford Engineering Advisory Council membership. His current focus lies within professional collaboration and embracing digital design solutions, two of the goals set within Adobe’s Creative Cloud.
Industry-shifting AI technology is here, and it’s here to stay. Careful consideration is necessary to minimize the disruption of the workflow of creative professionals, while opening up opportunities for those who may have been limited to mundane assignments. Consideration of the big picture and its direct effects on humanity is key. And knowing that Adobe is the name behind the change, one can count on the fact that it will continue to bring cutting-edge, innovative solutions to the competitive space of creatives.
