• Shutterstock powers innovation excellence by expanding OpenAI partnership focused on delivering the most advanced creative tools in the industry

• Shutterstock supports its contributor base with launch of fund aimed at ensuring artists are rewarded for contributions to AI datasets

Shutterstock, Inc , the leading global creative platform for transformative brands and media companies, today unveiled its action plan to launch its AI-generated content capabilities in a manner that is responsible and transparent for its customers and contributors. In expanding its partnership with OpenAI, launching a fund to compensate artists for their contributions, and focusing its R&D machine on gathering and publishing insights related to AI-generated content, Shutterstock positions itself at the forefront of emerging technology — supercharging ethical, creative storytelling for all.

“The mediums to express creativity are constantly evolving and expanding. We recognize that it is our great responsibility to embrace this evolution and to ensure that the generative technology that drives innovation is grounded in ethical practices,” said Paul Hennessy, Chief Executive Officer at Shutterstock. “We have a long history of integrating AI into every part of our business. This expert-level competency makes Shutterstock the ideal partner to help our creative community navigate this new technology. And we’re committed to developing best practices and experiences to deliver on our purpose, which is to empower the world to create with confidence.”

Shutterstock + OpenAI: Creativity at the Speed of Your Imagination
This collaboration introduces OpenAI’s seamless image generation capabilities to Shutterstock audiences worldwide — offering customers the ability to instantly generate images based upon the criteria they type in. That’s what Shutterstock calls Creativity at the Speed of Your Imagination.

This agreement further deepens the strategic partnership between Shutterstock and OpenAI, which began in 2021.

“The data we licensed from Shutterstock was critical to the training of DALL-E,” said Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO. “We’re excited for Shutterstock to offer DALL-E images to its customers as one of the first deployments through our API, and we look forward to future collaborations as artificial intelligence becomes an integral part of artists’ creative workflows.”

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When this integration launches on Shutterstock.com in the coming months, customers will receive direct access to these AI image generation capabilities improving their creative workflows. In turn, Shutterstock contributors will be compensated for the role their content played in the development of this technology.

Shutterstock.AI Unlocks New Revenue Streams for Contributors
Shutterstock believes that AI-generated content is the cumulative effort of its contributing artists. In an effort to create a new industry standard and unlock new revenue streams for the Company’s artist community, Shutterstock has also created the framework to provide additional compensation for artists whose works have contributed to develop the AI models. The Company also aims to compensate its contributors in the form of royalties when their intellectual property is used.

Establishing an Ethical and Equitable AI Framework
To promote an ethical and inclusive framework for content and AI, Shutterstock is a proud sponsor and participant in the World Ethical Data Foundation’s 2022 global conference. With a strong focus on the importance of inclusivity in technology, from hiring to reducing bias in systems and building checks and balances to help ensure ethical and inclusive data use, Shutterstock continues to drive advancements in both tech innovation and DEI across the creative industries.

And in an important effort to protect the IP rights of its artists, photographers, and creators, Shutterstock continues to lead in developing policy and procedures, and employs methods to ensure that usage rights and proper licenses are secured for all featured content — including AI-generated content.

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