Apple and Shutterstock sign deal on AI image training

DPA
·1 min read
The logo of the US technology company Apple can be seen at night at the Apple Store Jungfernstieg in the city center. Christian Charisius/dpa
The logo of the US technology company Apple can be seen at night at the Apple Store Jungfernstieg in the city center. Christian Charisius/dpa

Apple is pairing up with Shutterstock on Artificial Intelligence (AI) image training to upgrade Apple's devices with the latest technology, Apple said on Monday.

The tech giant has recently signed a deal, worth up to $50 million, with Shutterstock to license millions of images, video and audio content to train its AI large language models, according to Apple Insider.

The alleged deal could improve the image generation and editing capabilities of iPhones, by enhancing the AI image recognition technology.

Moreover, iPhone users could take advantage of improved voice recognition and automatic transcription with the help of video and audio content from Shutterstock, whose data is also currently being used by Alphabet Inc's Google, Amazon and Meta Platforms to develop their AI engines.

This announcement follows similar ongoing negotiations by Apple with various publishers such as Conde Nast IAC, and NBC to use their content from news articles to train AI models.

The California-based company's senior vice-president of worldwide marketing, Greg Joswiak, has frequently hinted on social media platforms that the upcoming WWDC conference will be "Absolutely Incredible," as it will be primarily focused on the newly added AI features to the devices.