Adobe is debuting a new ‘nutrition label’ for digital content

Adobe announced a free web app for creators to apply credentials to their work, in an effort to help protect content from unauthorized use and ensure creators receive proper attribution.  Adobe said its content credentials are to be thought of as a sort of “nutrition label,” for digital content, creating metadata that creators can attach to their work to share information about themselves and provide context on how specific content was created and edited. Creators can also choose to opt specific content out from being used to train generative AI.  Adobe is also releasing a free Google Chrome browser extension for consumers to see which assets on websites, like Facebook or X, have credentials and were shaped by artificial intelligence. A free beta of the Adobe Content Authenticity web app will go live in the first quarter of 2025. The Content Authenticity extension will be available after Tuesday, the company said. Adobe Content Authenticity Chrome extension [Image: Adobe] “We’re getting to a world where actually we’re going to start verifying before we trust [content] in some ways,” Scott Belsky, chief strategy officer and executive vice president of design & emerging products at Adobe, tells Fast Company.  There’s long been a public debate between artists and tech giants over how AI models should be trained. And the explosive growth of generative AI content in recent months has left artists contending with how to keep their content safe. At the same time, concerned consumers are wondering what can or can’t be trusted online. Adobe surveyed more than 2,000 people in the U.S. about misinformation and their trust in Generative AI earlier this year. Nearly 85% of respondents said they worried the content they find online might be altered, and 70% said it’s becoming difficult to verify whether online content is trustworthy. Adobe’s latest tech has been five years in the making, Senior Director of Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative Andy Parsons says. The company said that the new web app was developed with creators through one-on-one listening sessions, group discussions, and user experience testing. “We realize that in the age of AI, where things can be made by default by technology, you definitely need these credentials,” Belsky says.