There are concerns among employees at Adobe that the company’s AI advancements, particularly its text-to-image generator Firefly, may lead to job losses for its current customer base. Insider reports that some employees fear that the integration of AI technologies in the art industry could result in downsizing graphic design departments.
One senior designer at Adobe has already witnessed a billboard and advertising business reducing its team size due to the effectiveness of Firefly in Photoshop, despite it still being in beta. This situation has led to an “existential crisis” among some employees, as they worry about the potential negative impact on jobs and express their concerns internally in a Slack channel.
While some employees see the positive aspect of AI tools making art creation faster and easier while maintaining ethical considerations, the issue goes beyond the question of job viability. Adobe primarily develops software for design professionals, so if these professionals no longer have jobs, it begs the question of who will purchase Adobe’s software products.
Despite experiencing significant growth and surpassing profit expectations, Adobe faces the potential challenge of requiring fewer subscriptions to its Creative Cloud offering as AI eliminates the need for as much human labor.
Employees at Adobe are genuinely concerned that the company may jeopardize its own revenue sources by investing heavily in AI technologies. There is a fear of “cannibalizing” the current income stream.
In fact, this trend may not be limited to design firms; if Adobe’s software sales decline as a result of reduced demand, it is very likely that the company would downsize its own teams to match the new market reality. And so, the argument stands that the more Adobe invests in AI, the greater the risk to its own profits.
During an Adobe earnings call, analyst Brent Thrill acknowledged that the primary question from investors was whether AI advancements would negatively impact Adobe’s software sales. In response, David Wadhwani, Adobe’s president of digital media, mentioned the company’s track record of introducing technologies that have increased productivity and created more jobs. However, it remains uncertain how this will apply to the current situation involving AI integration.