Bookish Thoughts: Who are AI's Major Players?
Know who you are up against.
In my previous installment about AI, I focused on the basics of talking about AI. This installment gets more into the nitty gritty and some of my biases based on my data science, programming background, and passion for indie media.
Why this matters
This is the part where I discuss who I perceive to be significant players in the AI space. These businesses have influence, especially in the direction of generative AI. They are not a collective monolith taking on generative AI the same way. Understanding their differences can help indie creators and their supporters navigate the AI space.
A Bias Disclaimer and Explainer
Curation is necessary here, so my biases inevitably play a part. Some in the tech community have speculated we are entering an AI bubble. I agree. This list will not be exhaustive.
Additionally, if I were to prioritize how to be critical of AI before it causes real damage to people, it would be generative AI. That is why this list of significant players includes those who are selling products that…
do not require coding knowledge
are generative AI software
have enough capital and market share to be actively hiring and be in the middle of acquiring AI businesses or being acquired themselves
The Usual Suspects
Alphabet (Google)
Global Headquarters: USA
Prominent AI Product(s) and Their Purpose(s:)
Gemini: Generative AI Chatbot
Lawsuits and Controversies:
Alphabet has several AI capabilities and has been actively exploring acquiring more, attracting negative FTC attention. Their consumer-focused AI is called Gemini (formally known as Bard). Its current legal issues are active in the EU as France finds Google has been using new sources without consent. There are currently no current regulations in the EU that require training data transparency to monitor future potential infractions.
Microsoft
Global Headquarters: USA
Prominent AI Product(s) and Their Purpose(s):
Copilot: Generative AI work companion
Lawsuits and Controversies:
Microsoft's controversies are primarily connected with OpenAI. Currently, Microsoft does not own any part of OpenAI but does receive a share of profits. This connection has drawn FTC attention and pulled Microsoft into the crosshairs of lawsuits from authors, the New York Times, and other publications accusing Open AI of using their works in training data without consent. Through this partnership, Microsoft developed Copilot, which started as a code assistant and evolved into an overall chatbot. Even coders have accused these efforts of wrongfully leveraging their work in training data, too.
Meta (Facebook)
Global Headquarters: USA
Prominent AI Product(s) and Their Purpose(s):
Llama: Generative AI Chatbot
Lawsuits and Controversies:
No current lawsuits or accusations have reached my attention. The lack of controversies does not necessarily dismiss Meta from potential issues. It is worth noting that Llama, their consumer-focused AI product, is less commonly used than other products on this list. There may be fewer eyes on it.
Adobe
Global Headquarters:
Prominent AI Product(s) and Their Purpose(s):
Firefly: Generative AI Art Engine
Photoshop Generative Fill and Generative Expand: Generative AI Art Engine
Sensei: Generative AI work companion
Lawsuits and Controversies:
No current lawsuits or accusations have reached my attention. However, the lack of controversies does not necessarily dismiss Adobe from potential issues. They have made a point of insisting on data training with Adobe Stock Images to avoid the common lawsuits other generative AI software products have run into.
Amazon
Global Headquarters: USA
Prominent AI Product(s) and Their Purpose(s):
Lawsuits and Controversies:
Like Alphabet and Meta, Amazon works on more AI projects than their consumer-focused products. In addition to garnering FTC attention for their interactions with up-and-coming AI startups, they have also drawn criticism from the creative community as a platform that produces and hosts content from Movies on Prime to audiobooks on Audible.
New Kids On The Block
Anthropic
Global Headquarters: USA
Prominent AI Product(s) and Their Purpose(s):
Claude: Generative AI Chatbot and Work Companion
Lawsuits and Controversies:
Anthropic's partnerships with Alphabet and Amazon have brought it into the club of recent FTC scrutiny. Those are not its only issues, though. They are also dealing with Universal Music, who claims Anthropic has misused lyrics in their music catalog for AI training. The results of other lawsuits against its fellow AI companies may chart its future further,
OpenAI
Global Headquarters: USA
Prominent AI Product(s) and Their Purpose(s):
Lawsuits and Controversies:
OpenAI is a controversy magnet. They are prominent and growing fast. Elon Musk has targeted them, claiming they have lost their mission. They have linked arm-in-arm with Microsoft in being targeted by the FTC. They are also waist-deep in lawsuits from authors, the New York Times, and other publications that will likely shape how companies like Open AI can and cannot vacuum up training data.
Midjourney
Global Headquarters: USA
Prominent AI Product(s) and Their Purpose(s):
Midjourney
Lawsuits and Controversies:
Midjourney has done a lot to take advantage of the unregulated space of data training. So they are a prime target for class action lawsuits as artists attempt to get compensation for their work, which has made Midjourney successful. They and Stability so far have been unable to convince American judges to dismiss such lawsuits in the future. Far from being allies, though, Midjourney and Stability have found themselves at odds as Midjourney took steps to ban Stability from scrapping data they have scrapped. It is an action that makes it clear that AI companies know how valuable training data is. They just don't want to pay more than they are forced to.
Stability
Global Headquarters: UK
Prominent AI Product(s) and Their Purpose(s):
SDXL Turbo: Generative AI Art Engine
Stable Diffusion XL: Generative AI Art Engine
Stable Video Diffusion: Generative AI Video Engine
Stable Audio: Generative AI Audio Engine
Stable Zero123: Generative AI 3D Art Engine
Stable Code: Generative AI Code Engine
Lawsuits and Controversies:
Stability is currently dealing with instability in its corporate culture and operations. They have been publicly banned by their fellow AI company, Midjourney. Recently, their CEO suddenly resigned. In the middle of all of this, they are working through legal action in the US and UK from Getty Images.
Others to be aware of….
Bonus: Ways Creators Can Protect Themselves
To my knowledge, two software programs from the University of Chicago allow creators to defend themselves from theft. They are not future-proof against any possible advances in AI. However, they can offer more options than most artists possess right now.
Nightshade
What it does: Nightshade is a data modifier of digital images that does not affect what the human eye perceives in the image but renders it unusable for AI algorithms to learn from. Taking from Nightshade's website for an example, a "shaded" image of a cow could teach an algorithm that a cow looks like a purse. With enough "shaded" cow images, an algorithm will show purses when a human prompter asks for cows.
Glaze
What it does: Glaze is a data modifier of digital images that does not affect what the human eye perceives in the image but misdirects AI algorithms trying to learn from it. It is primarily used to prevent algorithms from mimicking human artists, especially well-known or proficient artists.
Housekeeping
For more information about this newsletter’s spice and star system, check out this newsletter’s About Me page.