Avid Champions Responsible AI in Media

The potential implications of the use of AI in the media are huge. For some, these are exciting advances which will further the human experience. For others, this is an existential threat to the creative process.

Avid champions responsible use of AI in media, both in terms of how it is utilized within the company’s own practices and projects, and how it is applied within applications and solutions. A related white paper has already been published, setting out the approach.

Avid Ada is the underlying framework upon which Avid is building its AI offerings with developments already introduced in products such as Media Composer, MediaCentral and Sibelius.

But AI and machine learning (ML) developments cannot happen in a vacuum, particularly when so much is potentially at stake. This is why Avid has joined two associations at the forefront of considering the implications of AI on the industries about which we care so deeply.

The issue of fake news is nothing new, but again, with many major elections taking place in 2024, and the growth in AI-generated images, concerns have been raised about the potential influence of unverified information or pictures. One way to combat this is to implement a verifiable fingerprint to the original media, which could confirm authenticity, all the way from its creation to viewer consumption.

Avid has therefore joined the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) set up to address the prevalence of misleading information online through the development of technical standards for certifying the source and history (or provenance) of media content. C2PA is a Joint Development Foundation project, formed through an alliance between Adobe, Arm, Intel, Microsoft and Truepic.

As stated on their website, the project builds on work of the “Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) which focuses on systems to provide context and history for digital media, and Project Origin, a Microsoft- and BBC-led initiative that tackles disinformation in the digital news ecosystem.”

Delivering an open technical standard, the initiative provides publishers, creators, and consumers the ability to trace the origin of different types of media. Avid is now assessing how this standard can be applied within our range of products.

But the world of AI and ML does not just apply to video of course. The world of music creation has already seen not just AI-created songs, but also AI-generated popstars. To that end, the AI for Music organization was formed, founded by Roland and Universal Music Group, with Avid joining as a member. 

Its stated aim is “to establish a guideline for the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence in music. By adopting these principles, companies and organizations commit to protecting the vital contributions of human creativity and to the responsible development and application of artificial intelligence for music creation.”

The organization’s seven principles:

• We believe music is central to humanity. Enjoying and creating music is integral to our health, well-being, and happiness. Music provides a human connection to each other and the world around us and is deeply personal.
• We believe humanity and music are inseparable, and music with true meaning cannot exist without the direct creative contributions of people.
• From acoustic to electronic instruments, we believe that technology has long supported human artistic expression, and applied sustainably, AI will amplify human creativity.
• We believe that human-created works must be respected and protected, and they uniquely merit copyright protections. The use of copyrighted works — and use of the music artists’ name/image/likeness/voice by others — must be authorized in advance of the use and music artists should be given recognition for their contribution.
• We believe transparency is essential to responsible and trustworthy use of AI. In order to establish and maintain trust across all stakeholders, from fans to artists, AI-powered creative platforms and policies must prioritize record keeping and disclosure while shining a light on those who create.
• We believe the perspectives of music artists, songwriters, and other creators must be sought after and respected as AI-powered creative experiences are imagined, strategized, planned, and implemented.
• We are proud to help bring music to life. Together, through the musical instruments we produce, the artists and songwriters we represent, and the music education programs we support, we inspire and enable creativity.

The establishment of these organizations highlights how the music, video and publishing industries are coming together to address a variety of emerging concerns. By participating in these organizations, Avid intends to play its part in the responsible use of AI within the creative communities.

To find out more about Avid AI and the future of news, check out www.avid.com/ada