Technologies

Adobe: Our New Generative AI Will Help Creative Pros, Not Hurt Them

The Firefly tools begin with image creation and font styling but soon will spread to Photoshop and other software.

In 2022, OpenAI’s Dall-E service wowed the world with the ability to turn text prompts into images. Now Adobe has built its own version of this generative AI technology with tools that begin a technological overhaul of the company’s widely used creative tools.

On Tuesday, Adobe released the first two members of its new Firefly collection of generative AI tools for beta testing. The first tool creates an image based on a text prompt like «fierce alligator leaping out of the water during a lightning storm,» with hundreds of styles that can tweak results. The other applies prompt-based styles to text, letting people create letters that look hairy, scaly, mossy or however else they want.

Firefly for now is available on Adobe’s website, but the company will build generative AI directly into other tools, starting with its Photoshop image editing software, Illustrator for designs and Adobe Express for creating quick videos. The company hasn’t revealed its pricing approach for the new tools.

Creative professionals might see Firefly as an incursion into their creative domain, going beyond mechanical tools like selecting colors and trimming videos into the heart and soul of their jobs. With AI showing new smarts when it comes to translating documents, interpreting tax code, composing music and creating travel itineraries, it’s not irrational for professionals to feel spooked.

Like other AI fans, though, Adobe sees artificial intelligence as the latest digital tool to amplify what humans can do. For example, Firefly eventually could let people use Adobe tools to tailor designs to individuals instead of just creating one design for a broad audience, said Alexandru Costin, vice president of Adobe’s generative AI work.

«We don’t think AI will replace creative creators. We think that creators using AI will be more competitive than creators not using AI. This is why we want to bring AI to the fingertips of all our user base,» Costin said. «The only way to succeed in AI is to embrace it.»

Adobe’s Firefly products are trained from the company’s own library of stock images, along with public domain and licensed works. The company has worked to reduce the bias in training data that AI models can reflect, for example that business executives are male.

AI is a «sea change»

Artificial intelligence uses processes inspired by human brains for computing tasks, trained to recognize patterns in complex real-world data instead of following traditional and rigid if-this-then-that programming. With advances in AI hardware, software, algorithms and training data, the field is advancing rapidly and touching just about every corner of tech.

The latest flavor of the technology, generative AI, can create new material on its own. The best known example, ChatGPT, can write software, hold conversations and compose poetry. Microsoft is employing ChatGPT’s technology foundation, GPT-4, to boost Bing search results, offer email writing tips and help build presentations

AI tools are sprouting up all over. Adobe has used AI for years under its Sensei brand for features like recognizing human subjects in Lightroom photos and transcribing speech into text in Premiere Pro videos. EbSynth applies a photo’s style to a video, HueMint creates color palettes and LeiaPix converts 2D photos into 3D scenes.

But it’s the new generative AI that brings new creative possibilities to digital art and design.

«It’s a sea change,» said Forrester analyst David Truog.

One of the first members of Adobe’s Firefly family of generative AI tools will style text based on prompts like «the letter N made of gold with intricate ornaments.»

Adobe

Alpaca offers a Photoshop plug-in to generate art, and Aug X Labs can turn a text prompt into a video. Google’s MusicLM converts text to music, though it’s not open to the public. Dall-E captured the internet’s attention with its often fantastical imagery — the name marries Pixar’s WALL-E robot with the surrealist painter Salvador Dalí.

Related tools like Midjourney and Stability AI’s Stable Diffusion spread the technology even further.

If Adobe didn’t offer generative AI abilities, creative pros and artists would get them from somewhere else.

Indeed, Microsoft on Tuesday incorporated Dall-E technology with its Bing Image Creator service.

Training AIs isn’t easy, but it’s getting less difficult, at least for those who have a healthy budget. Chip designer Nvidia on Tuesday announced that Adobe is using its new H100 Hopper GPU to train Firefly models through a new service called Picasso. Other Picasso customers include photo licensing companies Getty Images and Shutterstock.

Legal engineering

Developing good AI isn’t just a technical matter. Adobe set up Firefly to sidestep legal and social problems that AI poses.

For example, three artists sued Stability AI and Midjourney in January over the use of their works in AI training data. They «seek to end this blatant and enormous infringement of their rights before their professions are eliminated by a computer program powered entirely by their hard work,» their lawsuit said.

Getty Images also sued Stability AI, alleging that it «unlawfully copied and processed millions of images protected by copyright.» It offers licenses to its enormous catalog of photos and other images for AI training, but Stability AI didn’t license the images. Stability AI, DeviantArt and Midjourney didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Adobe wants to assure artists that they needn’t worry about such problems. There are no copyright problems, no brand logos, and no Mickey Mouse characters. «You don’t want to infringe somebody else’s copyright by mistake,» Costin said.

The approach is smart, Truog said.

«What Adobe is doing with Firefly is strategically very similar to what Apple did by introducing the iTunes Music Store 20 years ago,» he said. Back then, Napster music sharing showed demand for online music, but the recording industry lawsuits crushed the idea. «Apple jumped in and designed a service that let people access music online but legally, more easily, and in a way that compensated the content creators instead of just stealing from them.»

Adobe also worked to counteract another problem that could make businesses leery, showing biased or stereotypical imagery.

It’s now up to Adobe to convince creative pros that it’s time to catch the AI wave.

«The introduction of digital creativity has increased the number of creative jobs, not decreased them, even if at the time it looked like a big threat,» Costin said. «We think the same thing will happen with generative AI.»

Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to create some personal finance explainers that are edited and fact-checked by our editors. For more, see this post.

Technologies

iOS 17 Cheat Sheet: Your Questions on the iPhone Update Answered

Here’s what you need to know about new features and upcoming updates for your iPhone.

Apple’s iOS 17 was released in September, shortly after the company held its Wonderlust event, where the tech giant announced the new iPhone 15 lineup, the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. We put together this cheat sheet to help you learn about and use the new features in iOS 17. It’ll also help you keep track of the subsequent iOS 17 updates.

iOS 17 updates

Using iOS 17

Getting started with iOS 17

Make sure to check back periodically for more iOS 17 tips and how to use new features as Apple releases more updates.

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

+15 More

See all photos

Technologies

Get Ready for a Striking Aurora That Could Also Disrupt Radio Communications

Don’t expect the storm to cause a lingering problem, though.

A geomagnetic storm is threatening radio communications Monday night, but that doesn’t mean you should be concerned. In fact, it may be an opportunity to see a colorful aurora in the night sky.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a geomagnetic storm watch after witnessing a coronal mass ejection from the sun on Saturday. The watch, which was issued over the weekend and will expire after Monday, said the onset of the storm passing over Earth on Sunday night represented a «moderate» threat to communications. As the storm continues to pass through, it could deliver a «strong» threat on Monday night that could cause radio communications to be temporarily disrupted during the worst of it.

Even so, NOAA said, «the general public should not be concerned.»

A coronal mass ejection occurs when magnetic field and plasma mass are violently expelled from the sun’s corona, or the outermost portion of the sun’s atmosphere. In the vast majority of cases, the ejection occurs with no real threat to Earth. However, in the event the ejection happens in the planet’s direction, a geomagnetic storm occurs, and the Earth’s magnetic field is temporarily affected.

In most cases, geomagnetic storms cause little to no disruption on Earth, with radio communications and satellites affected most often. In extreme cases, a geomagnetic storm can cause significant and potentially life-threatening power outages — a prospect that, luckily, the planet hasn’t faced.

Switching poles

Every 11 years, the sun’s magnetic poles switch, with the north pole and south pole swapping positions. During those cycles, the sun’s activity ramps up as it gets closer to pole-switching time. The height of its activity is called solar maximum, and scientists believe we either may be entering the solar maximum or may be already in it.

During periods of heightened solar activity, sunspots increase on the sun and there’s an increase in coronal mass ejections, among other phenomena. According to NOAA, solar maximum could extend into October of this year before the sun’s activity calms and it works towards its less-active phase, solar minimum.

Even when geomagnetic storms hit Earth and disrupt communications, the effects are usually short-lived. Those most affected, including power grid operators and pilots and air traffic controllers communicating over long distances, have fail-safe technologies and backup communications to ensure operational continuity.

But geomagnetic storms aren’t only about radios. In most cases, they also present unique opportunities to see auroras in the night sky. When the storms hit, the plasma they carry creates a jaw-dropping aurora, illuminating the night sky with brilliant colors. Those auroras can be especially pronounced during the most intense phases of the storm, making for nice stargazing.

If you’re interested in seeing the aurora, you’ll need to be ready. The NOAA said the «brunt of the storm has passed» and even if it lingers into Tuesday, there won’t be much to see after Monday night.

Technologies

Last Total Solar Eclipse for 20 Years Is Coming: How to See and Photograph It

It’s your last chance until 2044.

Get your eclipse glasses ready, Skygazers: the Great American Eclipse is on its way. On April 8, there’ll be a total eclipse over North America, the last one until 2044.

A total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, blocking the sun and turning an otherwise sunny day to darkness for a short period of time. Depending on the angle at which you’re viewing the eclipse, you may see the sun completely shrouded by the moon (called totality) or some variation of it. The more off-angle you are and the further you are from the path of the eclipse, the less likely you’ll be to see the totality.

The 2024 total solar eclipse will happen on Monday, April 8. The Great American Eclipse will reach the Mexican Pacific coast at 11:07 a.m. PT (2:07 p.m. ET), and then traverse the US in a northeasterly direction from Texas to Maine, and on into easternmost Canada. If you want a good look at it, but don’t live in the path of totality, you shouldn’t wait much longer to book accommodation and travel to a spot on the path.

Or how about booking a seat in the sky? Delta Airlines made headlines for offering a flight that allows you to see the entire path of totality. Its first eclipse flight, from Austin, Texas, to Detroit sold out quickly. But as of Monday, Delta has added a second flight from Dallas to Detroit, which also covers the path of totality. The airline also has five flights that will offer prime eclipse viewing.

Not everyone can get on one of those elusive eclipse-viewing flights. Here’s a look at other options to nab a chance to see this rare sight and what to know about it.

Total solar eclipse path

The eclipse will cross over the Pacific coast of Mexico and head northeast over mainland Mexico. The eclipse will then make its way over San Antonio at approximately 2:30 p.m. ET on April 8 and move through Texas, over the southeastern part of Oklahoma and northern Arkansas by 2:50 p.m. ET.

By 3 p.m. ET, the eclipse will be over southern Illinois, and just 5 minutes later, will be traveling over Indianapolis. Folks in northwestern Ohio will be treated to the eclipse by 3:15 p.m. ET, and it will then travel over Lake Erie and Buffalo, New York, by 3:20 p.m. ET. Over the next 10 minutes, the eclipse will be seen over northern New York state, then over Vermont. By 3:35 p.m. ET, the eclipse will work its way into Canada and off the Eastern coast of North America.

Best places to watch the Great American Eclipse

When evaluating the best places to watch this year’s total eclipse, you’ll first want to determine where you’ll have the best angle to see the totality. The farther off-angle you are — in other words, the farther north or south of the eclipse’s path — the less of an impact you can expect.

Therefore, if you want to have the best chance of experiencing the eclipse, you’ll want to be in its path. As of this writing, most of the cities in the eclipse’s path have some hotel availability, but recent reports have suggested that rooms are booking up. And as more rooms are booked, prices are going up.

So if you want to be in the eclipse’s path, and need a hotel to do it, move fast. And Delta’s eclipse-viewing flight from Dallas to Detroit has just four seats left at the time of publication.

Eclipse eye safety and photography

As with any solar eclipse, it’s critical you keep eye safety in mind.

During the eclipse, and especially during the periods before and after totality, don’t look directly at the sun without special eye protection. Also, be sure not to look at the sun through a camera (including the camera on your phone), binoculars, a telescope or any other viewing device. This could cause serious eye injury. Sunglasses aren’t enough to protect your eyes from damage.

If you want to view the eclipse, you’ll instead need solar viewing glasses that comply with the ISO 12312-2 safety standard. Anything that doesn’t meet that standard or greater won’t be dark enough to protect your eyes. Want to get them for free? If you’ve got a Warby Parker eyeglasses store nearby, the company is giving away free, ISO-certified solar eclipse glasses at all of its stores from April 1 until the eclipse, while supplies last.

If you don’t have eclipse viewing glasses handy, you can instead use indirect methods for viewing the eclipse, like a pinhole projector.

Read more: A Photographer’s Adventure With the Eclipse

In the event you want to take pictures of the eclipse, attach a certified solar filter to your camera. Doing so will protect your eyes and allow you to take photos while you view the eclipse through your lens.

There’s also a new app to help you both protect your eyes and take better photos of the eclipse on your phone. Solar Snap, designed by a former Hubble Space Telescope astronomer, comes with a Solar Snap camera filter that attaches to the back of an iPhone or Android phone, along with solar eclipse glasses for protecting your eyesight during the event. After you attach the filter to your phone, you can use the free Solar Snap Eclipse app to zoom in on the eclipse, adjust exposure and other camera settings, and ultimately take better shots of the eclipse.

2024 eclipse compared to 2017

The last total solar eclipse occurred in 2017, and many Americans had a great view. Although there are plenty of similarities between the 2017 total solar eclipse and the one coming April 8, there are a handful of differences. Mainly, the 2024 eclipse is going to cover more land and last longer.

The 2017 eclipse started over the northwest US and moved southeast. Additionally, that eclipse’s path was up to 71 miles wide, compared with a maximum width of 122 miles for this year’s eclipse. Perhaps most importantly, the moon completely covered the sun for just 2 minutes, 40 seconds in 2017. This year, maximum totality will last for nearly four-and-a-half minutes.