Why The Forge’s Use of AI Art Is Both Ethical and Legitimate

In recent months, The Forge has faced criticism—sometimes quite pointed criticism—over our use of AI-generated art, with some voices accusing us of “endorsing art theft” or claiming our practices undermine the creative community. We want to address these concerns openly, explain exactly how we use AI art, and demonstrate why our approach is both ethical and legally sound.

The Accusations: What Are People Worried About?

The main concern is that AI art generators “steal” from artists by training on copyrighted images without permission, then produce new images that mimic or even copy those styles. This has been a real and valid issue with some AI tools, especially those that scraped the open internet or used datasets without proper licensing. Artists have seen their work used without consent, and some have taken legal action against companies behind these tools.

The Forge’s Approach: Only Using Adobe Firefly

Here’s where The Forge’s approach is fundamentally different:

We only use Adobe Firefly for AI-generated art.

Firefly is unique among major AI art tools because it is trained on a carefully curated dataset: licensed content from Adobe Stock (where contributors are compensated), public domain material, and openly licensed works^[1][2][3]. Adobe does not use random images scraped from the internet, nor does it train on artwork without proper rights.

Adobe stands behind the legality of Firefly.

Adobe is so confident in the legal safety of Firefly’s outputs that it offers full indemnification to enterprise users, meaning if there were ever a copyright lawsuit over Firefly-generated art, Adobe would cover the legal costs^[4]. This is not an empty promise; it’s a public guarantee that reflects the company’s confidence in its licensing and moderation process.

What About Recent Controversies?

Some recent reports have pointed out that a small percentage of Firefly’s training data includes AI-generated images—some of which were originally created with other AI tools^[5]. However, these images were submitted to Adobe Stock by contributors who were compensated, and every image (AI or otherwise) goes through a moderation process to ensure it does not contain protected IP, trademarks, or recognisable characters^[5]. There is no evidence that Firefly outputs infringe on the rights of artists or replicate their unique styles without permission.

The Legal Landscape: Where Does Firefly Stand?

No proven cases of illegality:

To date, there have been no successful lawsuits against Adobe Firefly for copyright infringement. In fact, legal experts agree that Adobe’s approach—training only on licensed and public domain content—places it on solid legal ground^[6][4][3].

Clear terms and transparency:

Adobe’s user guidelines and terms of use make it clear that Firefly-generated content is commercially safe and that the company is committed to respecting creator rights^[7][1][3].

Legal risks with other tools—not Firefly:

Lawsuits and controversies have targeted AI tools trained on unlicensed data (like Stable Diffusion and Midjourney), not Firefly. The difference is in the data: Firefly’s training set is built for compliance and transparency^[2][4].

Why The Forge Needs AI Art

Producing the volume and specificity of art required for our professional military education content would be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming if we relied solely on traditional commissioned artwork. Firefly allows us to create relevant, visually engaging content quickly and ethically, without exploiting artists or violating copyright.

Non-Displacement of Artists

Another ethical concern often raised is whether using AI-generated art displaces work that could have gone to human artists. In The Forge’s case, this concern does not apply in practical terms: we have never had a dedicated budget for hiring external artists or commissioning original artwork. In the past, we have relied heavily on the Adobe Stock Image library to meet our visual needs, and we will continue to do so alongside our use of Firefly.

That said, The Forge does have an artist on staff—and that artist is me. It is my decision to use Firefly to enable faster, more consistent alignment of artwork to the specific purpose of our content. While I don’t particularly enjoy handing over some of the more creative and personally satisfying parts of my role to an AI tool, I believe it is a necessary step to keep pace with our mission and production demands.

A Commitment to Ethics and Transparency

We recognise that the world of AI art is evolving rapidly, and legitimate concerns exist about how these technologies are used. That’s why The Forge has chosen the most responsible tool available, and why we’re transparent about our process. We are not defending all AI art—only our specific, careful use of Firefly-generated images.

In Summary

• The Forge uses only Adobe Firefly, trained on licensed and public domain content.
• Adobe offers legal indemnification for Firefly-generated art, reflecting their confidence in its legality^[4].
• There have been no proven cases of copyright infringement involving Firefly-generated images.
• Our approach is ethical, transparent, and necessary to meet our mission.

We welcome ongoing dialogue and are committed to adapting as the legal and ethical landscape evolves. But rest assured: The Forge’s use of AI art is responsible, defensible, and here to support our mission, not to undermine the creative community.

Footnotes