Adobe has released a new tool that is being added to Photoshop. This tool was introduced in lieu of several cases of doctored images and deep fakes. This tool is being launched as part of Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI). This tool will be able to provide a type of paper trail that will allow users to identify deep fake images against authentic works. This is an important step taken by Adobe as it provides creators with a reliable option to tag their works with their credentials and be able to reclaim their works if they are stolen.
Using the tool users will be able to see the creator's name, location, and edit history to images and even see the tools that the creator used to edit the image. In the beginning, Adobe launched their Content Authenticity Initiative, after a string of incidents involving altered images and deep fakes, in collaboration with Twitter and the New York Times; over time partnering with the British Broadcasting Network, Qualcomm, Microsoft, and is working to get other companies involved to create a reliable and accurate network that will be able to provide information on almost every image used in photojournalism, on social media, in articles, etc.. This is a huge step forward in allowing users to determine who to trust and also in making sure that creators get credit where it is due for their works.
This tool comes into play when a creator has finished editing an image and are exporting it. At that time the attribution tool, as it is being called, will prompt the creator to tag the image with their name, location, etc. and if they want the tools used to create the image to be shown. All of this is in the control of the creator and, this is a point to note, no data will be shown if the creator decides not to tag the image with it. This is a limitation to the effectiveness of this tool and what it stands for but if a creator does not want credit for their work, it is their choice and Adobe has provided them with options to make that choice, which is understandable. Adobe released a short video that showed the attribution tool in action. The video showed a composite image being created with a person's face being keyed over a stock photo background. After the image was exported, the creator's name, the program used to edit the image, the source images used to create it, and the date and time when the image was signed.
In order for this tool and this Initiative to be a success, however, Adobe will need partnerships from a lot of major companies including Photoshop rivals which may not be the easiest feat to accomplish but it is, nevertheless, extremely important for this Initiative to live up to its reason for creation and for it to actually be useful to users.
Read next: Adobe Photoshop Camera App Gets Updated With Useful New Features
Using the tool users will be able to see the creator's name, location, and edit history to images and even see the tools that the creator used to edit the image. In the beginning, Adobe launched their Content Authenticity Initiative, after a string of incidents involving altered images and deep fakes, in collaboration with Twitter and the New York Times; over time partnering with the British Broadcasting Network, Qualcomm, Microsoft, and is working to get other companies involved to create a reliable and accurate network that will be able to provide information on almost every image used in photojournalism, on social media, in articles, etc.. This is a huge step forward in allowing users to determine who to trust and also in making sure that creators get credit where it is due for their works.
This tool comes into play when a creator has finished editing an image and are exporting it. At that time the attribution tool, as it is being called, will prompt the creator to tag the image with their name, location, etc. and if they want the tools used to create the image to be shown. All of this is in the control of the creator and, this is a point to note, no data will be shown if the creator decides not to tag the image with it. This is a limitation to the effectiveness of this tool and what it stands for but if a creator does not want credit for their work, it is their choice and Adobe has provided them with options to make that choice, which is understandable. Adobe released a short video that showed the attribution tool in action. The video showed a composite image being created with a person's face being keyed over a stock photo background. After the image was exported, the creator's name, the program used to edit the image, the source images used to create it, and the date and time when the image was signed.
In order for this tool and this Initiative to be a success, however, Adobe will need partnerships from a lot of major companies including Photoshop rivals which may not be the easiest feat to accomplish but it is, nevertheless, extremely important for this Initiative to live up to its reason for creation and for it to actually be useful to users.
Read next: Adobe Photoshop Camera App Gets Updated With Useful New Features
