What happens when speed, scale and convenience start to undermine confidence in the images brands rely on to tell their stories?
In this episode of Tech Talks Daily I spoke with Dr. Rebecca SwiftSenior Vice President of Creative at Getty Imagesabout a growing problem hidden in plain sight, the rise of generic, low-quality AI-generated images and the silent damage they are doing to brand credibility. Rebecca brings a rare perspective to this conversation, leading a global creative team responsible for shaping the way visual culture is produced, analyzed and trusted at scale.
We explore the idea of AI sloppification, a term that describes what happens when generative tools are used because they are cheap, fast and available, rather than because they serve a clear creative purpose. Rebecca explains how the flood of mass-produced AI images makes brands appear interchangeable, depriving images of meaning, craftsmanship and originality. When everything starts to look the same, the audience stops watching altogether, or worse, stops trusting what they see.
A central theme in our discussion is transparency. Research shows that the majority of consumers want to know if an image has been modified or created using AI, and Rebecca explains why this shift is important. For the first time, audiences are actively judging content based on how it’s created, not just what it looks like. We discuss why some brands have misinterpreted this moment and mistaken the use of AI for innovation, only to face backlash as consumers feel misled or dejected.
Rebecca also discusses the legal and ethical risks that many companies overlook in the rush to adopt generative tools. From copyright exposure to the use of unapproved training data, she outlines why commercially safe AI is important, especially for companies that trade on trust. We discuss how Getty Images is approaching AI differently, with approved datasets, creator compensation, and strict controls designed to protect both brands and the creative community.
The conversation goes beyond risk and is about opportunities. Rebecca makes a strong case for why authenticity, real people, and human-made images become more valuable, not less, in an AI-saturated world. We explore why video, photography and behind-the-scenes storytelling are becoming increasingly important, and why audiences are drawn to the evidence of craft, effort and intention.
Now that generative AI is impossible to ignore, this episode asks a more difficult question. Are brands using AI as a thoughtful tool to support creativity, or are they trading long-term trust for short-term convenience, and will audiences continue to forgive that choice?
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