Wide ranging interview interview with Adobe general counsel Dana Rao covers AI Ethics and more

In an interview with Nilay Patel on the Decoder podcast at The Verge, Adobe’s general counsel Dano Rao discusses AI Ethics, how Adobe is handling the AI copyright dilemma (spoiler alert: We at the HCA remain skeptical, but cautiously optimistic), and his views on how AI will impact jobs for creatives (spoiler alert: We remain even more skeptical). Also of interest is the failed Figma acquisition.

We recommend reading or listening to the interview, it is very informative and insightful. It was also very well produced and thoughtful, as these types of interviews go. It was also a bit frustrating, however, because it is our opinion at the Human Creator Alliance that many of the concerns brought up by Nilay Patel were dismissed with a lot of hand-waving and corporate double-speak. This is not meant to disparage Dana Rao; he did a fine job articulating his position and appears to believe what he is saying authentically.

We think these are lazily optimistic positions to take, if not predictable ones, and frankly, some could argue the only ones a corporation with Adobe’s business model can take. It is complicated for us to be critical of Adobe here as well, since they are spearheading Content Credentials — which we strongly believe in— and we are co-members of the Content Authenticity Initiative alongside Adobe.

Criticisms aside, we are glad these conversations are being had, and encourage our members and audience to check out the interview.