Software
Adobe adds the content authenticity feature to the new beta of Photoshop.
Adobe will let some Adobe Creative Cloud customers try a tool that generates a trustworthy attribution directly into an image. Adobe is going forward with the Material Authenticity Project, a framework that it proposed last year. The tool adds an extra panel to Photoshop, and uses it to apply metadata that is provided by the Behance art sharing platform operated by Adobe.
Adobe points out precisely how the video process works. The system allows users to configure four types of metadata: the image thumbnail, the name of the individual making the image, some general information about the types of edits that were created, and the original assets used to create the image. They are then cryptographically signed, so it'll be clear if anyone is trying to tamper with them.
If the picture is posted to Behance, users can view all of the information as a pop-up screen, or they can click through to a dedicated website. The CAI panel will be coming to "pick customers" in the beta version of Photoshop over the next few weeks.
Adobe's demonstration video hints how the device could be useful. If one of the original composite picture assets has used CAI, for example, you can click through to see the full information for it — essentially offering artists a one-click attribution method while building on other people's photos. As we mentioned earlier, CAI is not designed to stop those trolls from faking an image. But if you want to make it clear that you have Photoshopped a picture, CAI is also a easy , low-key way to do that.
Eventually, Adobe wants a lot of applications, websites, and even cameras to support the CAI — probably aiming to make it a de facto standard for image assignment. CAI 's success ultimately depends on how much buy-in it can get around the broader internet, and Adobe has listed a range of high-profile partners including Microsoft, Twitter, and The New York Times Group. For now, however, Adobe is going to see how this option works within its own ecosystem.
