AI Generated images: A tool of the future or a menace in marketing and digital communications?
Figure 1. AI images (TheNewStack, 2023)
The robots are taking over! Or are they? This is one of the big albeit (trivial) questions many people are facing across the world with the invention of Generative AI (GAI). However, with the introduction of this new tool, could GAI be a helping hand or a menace in the future of marketing and digital communications?
In this blog post, we dive deep into the current state of AI in marketing and digital communications, explore the positives and negatives of AI-generated visuals, and contemplate the future landscape over the next five years. However, as we embark on this journey, it's crucial to address the copyright challenges that accompany the rise of AI in content creation.
The realm and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) has been evolving rapidly over the last few years (McKendrick, 2021), and one of its most intriguing aspects is AI image creation.
Although it may seem AI generated images is something new, it actually first appeared in the late 1960s during the debut of the Aaron system. “The Aaron system was an AI assistant that used a symbolic AI approach to help Cohen create black-and-white art drawings.” (Kerner, n.d.)
What is Generative AI?
So, what is Generative AI (GAI)? “GAI refers to artificial intelligence that can generate novel content, rather than simply analyzing or acting on existing data.” (Toews, 2022). GAI uses “deep-learning models that can generate high-quality text, images, and other content based on the data they were trained on.” (Martineau, 2023). One company most known by users and leading the way with their language learning model is OpenAI. OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, has over 180 million users as of the 30 November 2023 (Duarte, 2023), and is said to have “revolutionized the AI industry” (Westfall, 2023).
ChatGpt isn’t the only AI driven tool, here are just a few others:
HeyGen – An AI video generation tool helping to make video projects 10x quicker and easier
MidJourney – Lacking artistic imagination? Don’t worry. MidJourney is an AI text to image generator, helping to bring your ideas to life as art.
DALL-E – OpenAI’s other successful tool but this time it’s an AI image generator using text based prompts to create an image.
Microsoft designer – Taking image creation a step further Microsoft Designer creates full designs and can even suggest suitable captions and hashtags to go alongside social media posts.
Google Bard – Google’s answer to ChatGPT Bard is a conservational tool said to help brainstorm ideas, spark creativity and accelerate productivity (Bard, 2023).
Figure 2: Leading machine learning operation/platforms start-ups worldwide in 2023 by funding raised (Wahome, 2023)
The current state of AI in marketing
AI has already made significant advancements in marketing strategies and is being described as a “powerful tool that promises transformative changes across various industries.” (IndustryGeniuses, 2023). Whether it's by crafting personalised content, refining targeted advertisements, or helping to increase social media engagement, businesses are progressively harnessing the capabilities of AI to connect with their audiences more effectively. The ability of AI to analyse vast amounts of data enables marketers to make data-driven decisions, resulting in more targeted and impactful campaigns. There is also the potential to use AI to create images and graphics, which could be used brands for advertisement purposes whilst reducing the amount of time for creation.
The ethical dilemmas of using GAI in marketing and digital communications
While the rise of AI in image creation brings immense potential, it also raises important ethical questions about copyright. As AI algorithms learn from vast datasets, there's a risk of inadvertently reproducing or imitating copyrighted material. Marketers and content creators must be wary of this to avoid potential legal battles. Currently, “Generative AI is going through a moment of intense tension around use, ownership, and royalties.” (Lim, 2023).
In January, popular stock image giant, Getty Images, made the decision to enter a legal battle with the creator of the AI art tool, Stable Diffusion, for allegedly scraping its content ‘unlawfully’. (Vincent, 2023). Content scraping is defined as “when a bot downloads much or all of the content on a website, regardless of the website owner's wishes.” (Cloudflare, n.d.).
The issue now is, although some public and artists believe that AI companies are guilty of a copyright infringement, at the end of 2023 it still remains a large grey area as to which way the courts will go. When a decision is finally made, and at some point, it will be. This could end up reshaping how AI models learn in the future and then affect companies and brands who have adopted these tools in their strategies.
The Power of AI-Generated Visuals
The capacity of AI to generate high-quality, on-brand visuals is truly remarkable and stands out as one of its most notable applications. Imagine a scenario where AI effortlessly produces compelling graphics for marketing materials, saving time and resources while maintaining a consistent visual identity. This not only streamlines the creative process, but also ensures a cohesive and professional brand image across various platforms. This could mean that brands could use GAI to “blend product identifier data with corporate branding” whilst helping to create “visually stunning images” (Leibowitz, 2023), personalised content and messages to their chosen audience.
This could also include, a cleverly positioned QR codes for easy advertising and creativity instead of the old black and white, square looking codes that you currently see a lot. Check out this AI created image of these delicious looking pancakes… Now hold your phone up to the image and you will find a creatively placed QR code linking you to a dairy brand online.
Figure 3. A QR Code embedded in some delicious looking pancakes (Leibowitz, 2023)
The Future of AI Image Creation
Looking ahead, the next five years promise even more exciting developments in AI image creation. Expect to see AI-generated images that are not only realistic but also context-aware. As technology evolves, we anticipate a seamless integration of AI into the creative process, allowing marketers to focus on strategy while AI handles the design aspects.
A paper about how artificial intelligence will change the future of marketing recently theorised that “AI will be more effective if it is deployed in ways that augment (rather than replace) human managers.” (Davenport et al. 2019). This therefore hints that over the next few years as people continue to adopt AI as a new tool that instead of them replacing our jobs, we instead will work with them to streamline workload. However, Brands will need to be careful that the creation of images and text doesn’t lead to the spreading of false information, face copyright implications and hinder brand authenticity in the process.
As technologies become even more advanced and public awareness continues to grow regarding the impacts of AI image creation, companies will begin to face increased scrutiny (Clifford Chance et al. 2023 when it comes to delivering content. By establishing a framework of responsible AI usage, brands can help the marketing industry navigate the legal landscape and ensure that AI enhances creativity while upholding ethical principles over the years to come.
One thing is for certain, people can relax at the thought their jobs will be taken, as for now generative AI is merely but a tool which can be used to assist marketing and digital communication professionals, helping to streamline their work and ‘create more time for more human processes and interactions people.