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I would interpret it that they're getting the same push from Wall Street and the same investor-hype-driven product leadership as every other tech firm, but this

I would interpret it that they're getting the same push from Wall Street and the same investor-hype-driven product leadership as every other tech firm, but this time they have the good fortune to specialize in one of the few verticals (image editing) where generative AI currently has superhuman performance. This is a testable claim: where were Adobe in previous hype cycles? Googles "Adobe Blockchain"...looks like they were all about blockchains in 2018 [0], then NFTs and "more sustainable blockchains" in 2022 [1]. [0] https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2018/09/27/blockchain-and-the-digital-trust-economy https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2018/09/27/blockchain-and-... [1] https://www.ledgerinsights.com/adobe-moves-to-sustainable-blockchains/ https://www.ledgerinsights.com/adobe-moves-to-sustainable-bl...

TheOtherHobbes 2y ago
The article says clearly there's no guarantee this feature will be released. Which I'm reading as "Demo-ready, but far from production-ready." Somewhat relevant: my experience with Photoshop's Generative Fill has been underwhelming. Sometimes it's wrong, often it's comically wrong. I haven't had many easy wins with it. IMO this is a company that doodles with code for its own entertainment, not a company that innovates robust and highly useful production-ready features for the benefit of users. So we'll see if Mr Spinny Dragon makes it to production, and is as useful as billed in the demo.
- DowagerDave 2y ago
  you don't need to release to production for real value. I'm under intense pressure to scope out frothy AI features because just discussing them with prospects has a material impact on the costs of the sales funnel.
  - BlueTemplar 2y ago
    This sounds closer to fake value.
  - DaiPlusPlus 2y ago
    > just discussing them with prospects [...] sales funnel I'll admit I have no idea what % of Adobe licensees/subscribers are individuals and small visual/graphic design firms (who choose Adobe for personal reasons) compared to larger companies (news agencies, web-design body-shops, etc) where employees use the tools given to them despite any personal preferences for rivals like Procreate, etc - and the rest: students, hobbyist photographers, etc. ...but none of the aforementioned market-segments seem like they'd make "AI" (whatever that means) any part of their purchasing-decision. Buzzwords only help sales when the audience is ignorant and/or impressionable; and when your audience are well-informed, seasoned (and cynical) professionals then buzzwords have the opposite effect and damage a company's credibility. ...so I'm not sure who, exactly, Adobe is trying to message with their press-copy for Adobe Firefly (their "generative AI for business" product); perhaps it's just a charade meant only for their shareholders? I'm glad they aren't copying Microsoft and shoving AI branding where it really doesn't belong and compromising the user-experience (...at least not so the same extent).
    - fourthark 2y ago
      Execs love genai & execs make purchasing decisions.
      - fhd2 2y ago
        Yup, this. I've recently interacted with someone whose board pushed for a company-wide coding assistant rollout, with the explicit goal of reducing development staff, or rather costs. The developers weren't really asking for it, but leadership assumes that they wouldn't, if it could make them redundant. Seems like getting decisions made at that level can be extremely valuable, and at the same time lets you get away with building something that just seems like a useful product - because the people you're selling to won't use it. And furthermore, they will already go into this assuming resistance from the actual users, so they're unlikely to even listen to their feedback. Of course it's not a long term strategy, but it seems like a potent short term money maker.
  - wruza 2y ago
    “I consider lying cause trick sales look like real value to me”. Not judging, but sales alone are not real value.
throwaway2037 2y ago
I disagree with your analysis. I think this is a novel use of AI in a commercial art product. Is there any AI feature that Adobe could release that you would not view as "pushed from Wall Street"?

TheOtherHobbes 2y ago

The article says clearly there's no guarantee this feature will be released. Which I'm reading as "Demo-ready, but far from production-ready." Somewhat relevant: my experience with Photoshop's Generative Fill has been underwhelming. Sometimes it's wrong, often it's comically wrong. I haven't had many easy wins with it. IMO this is a company that doodles with code for its own entertainment, not a company that innovates robust and highly useful production-ready features for the benefit of users. So we'll see if Mr Spinny Dragon makes it to production, and is as useful as billed in the demo.

DowagerDave 2y ago
you don't need to release to production for real value. I'm under intense pressure to scope out frothy AI features because just discussing them with prospects has a material impact on the costs of the sales funnel.
- BlueTemplar 2y ago
  This sounds closer to fake value.
- DaiPlusPlus 2y ago
  > just discussing them with prospects [...] sales funnel I'll admit I have no idea what % of Adobe licensees/subscribers are individuals and small visual/graphic design firms (who choose Adobe for personal reasons) compared to larger companies (news agencies, web-design body-shops, etc) where employees use the tools given to them despite any personal preferences for rivals like Procreate, etc - and the rest: students, hobbyist photographers, etc. ...but none of the aforementioned market-segments seem like they'd make "AI" (whatever that means) any part of their purchasing-decision. Buzzwords only help sales when the audience is ignorant and/or impressionable; and when your audience are well-informed, seasoned (and cynical) professionals then buzzwords have the opposite effect and damage a company's credibility. ...so I'm not sure who, exactly, Adobe is trying to message with their press-copy for Adobe Firefly (their "generative AI for business" product); perhaps it's just a charade meant only for their shareholders? I'm glad they aren't copying Microsoft and shoving AI branding where it really doesn't belong and compromising the user-experience (...at least not so the same extent).
  - fourthark 2y ago
    Execs love genai & execs make purchasing decisions.
    - fhd2 2y ago
      Yup, this. I've recently interacted with someone whose board pushed for a company-wide coding assistant rollout, with the explicit goal of reducing development staff, or rather costs. The developers weren't really asking for it, but leadership assumes that they wouldn't, if it could make them redundant. Seems like getting decisions made at that level can be extremely valuable, and at the same time lets you get away with building something that just seems like a useful product - because the people you're selling to won't use it. And furthermore, they will already go into this assuming resistance from the actual users, so they're unlikely to even listen to their feedback. Of course it's not a long term strategy, but it seems like a potent short term money maker.
- wruza 2y ago
  “I consider lying cause trick sales look like real value to me”. Not judging, but sales alone are not real value.

throwaway2037 2y ago

I disagree with your analysis. I think this is a novel use of AI in a commercial art product. Is there any AI feature that Adobe could release that you would not view as "pushed from Wall Street"?