Latest news with #Costin
Business Mayor
24-04-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Adobe to launch mobile app for AI image generation tool as OpenAI steps up rivalry
Adobe's new artificial intelligence image models, Firefly Image Model 4 and Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra, can generate hyper-realistic pictures in response to user prompts. Adobe LONDON — Adobe plans to launch a mobile version of its artificial intelligence image generation tool Firefly, stepping up a challenge to OpenAI as the Microsoft -backed startup advances its efforts on visual applications for the technology. The design software giant said Thursday at its MAX creativity conference in London that it will release Firefly on both iOS and Android 'soon,' without giving a specific date. 'Creative people think on the go,' Alexandru Costin, vice president of Adobe Firefly, told CNBC in an interview. 'One of the visions we have is for the Firefly mobile application to become a creative partner that sits with you all the time.' Costin said that one way creatives could use its upcoming mobile app was to ask it to sketch up some ideas about an ad campaign while commuting to the office, so that by the time they arrive at work they've got a mood board to help them develop their thinking. Adobe also announced the launch of its latest AI models, Firefly Image Model 4 and Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra, and said its new Firefly Video Model for video generation is now generally available. The company said the new systems are capable of generating hyper-realistic pictures and videos in response to textual prompts in a 'commercially safe' way, blocking the inclusion of any intellectual property. Competition from OpenAI It marks Adobe's latest push to incorporate AI into its creative tool suite and comes as the company is increasingly facing competition from well-funded AI firms such as OpenAI and Runway. Read More Gadgets unveiled at CES but Russia is banned Last month, OpenAI released a native image generation feature that went viral online for its ability to produce anime images in the style of animation studio Studio Ghibli and recreate people as toy dolls. The tool saw such huge levels of demand that OpenAI boss Sam Altman warned it was melting the company's GPUs (graphics processing units). 'It's super fun seeing people love images in ChatGPT. But our GPUs are melting,' Altman said on March 27. While Adobe's Costin conceded that the competitive environment is heating up, he said the company isn't shying away from partnering with the competition. For example, Adobe has partnered up with the likes of OpenAI, Google and Runway to add their AI image generation tools to Firefly. 'Competition is great,' Costin told CNBC. 'We think there will be models with different personalities and capabilities.' 'Third-party partnerships bring us the opportunity to not only compete — it also gives us the benefits of innovation. It's about understanding the needs of creatives, giving them the technology to help serve their needs,' he added. READ SOURCE
CNBC
24-04-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Adobe to launch mobile app for AI image generation tool as OpenAI steps up rivalry
LONDON — Adobe plans to launch a mobile version of its artificial intelligence image generation tool Firefly, stepping up a challenge to OpenAI as the Microsoft-backed startup advances its efforts on visual applications for the technology. The design software giant said Thursday at its MAX creativity conference in London that it will release Firefly on both iOS and Android "soon," without giving a specific date. "Creative people think on the go," Alexandru Costin, vice president of Adobe Firefly, told CNBC in an interview. "One of the visions we have is for the Firefly mobile application to become a creative partner that sits with you all the time." Costin said that one way creatives could use its upcoming mobile app was to ask it to sketch up some ideas about an ad campaign while commuting to the office, so that by the time they arrive at work they've got a mood board to help them develop their thinking. Adobe also announced the launch of its latest AI models, Firefly Image Model 4 and Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra, and said its new Firefly Video Model for video generation is now generally available. The company said the new systems are capable of generating hyper-realistic pictures and videos in response to textual prompts in a "commercially safe" way, blocking the inclusion of any intellectual property. It marks Adobe's latest push to incorporate AI into its creative tool suite and comes as the company is increasingly facing competition from well-funded AI firms such as OpenAI and Runway. Last month, OpenAI released a native image generation feature that went viral online for its ability to produce anime images in the style of animation studio Studio Ghibli and recreate people as toy dolls. The tool saw such huge levels of demand that OpenAI boss Sam Altman warned it was melting the company's GPUs (graphics processing units). "It's super fun seeing people love images in ChatGPT. But our GPUs are melting," Altman said on March 27. While Adobe's Costin conceded that the competitive environment is heating up, he said the company isn't shying away from partnering with the competition. For example, Adobe has partnered up with the likes of OpenAI, Google and Runway to add their AI image generation tools to Firefly. "Competition is great," Costin told CNBC. "We think there will be models with different personalities and capabilities." "Third-party partnerships bring us the opportunity to not only compete — it also gives us the benefits of innovation. It's about understanding the needs of creatives, giving them the technology to help serve their needs," he added.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Home Office worker sacked for sharing post by Richard Tice
A man who worked for the Home Office was sacked for sharing a post made by Richard Tice, the Reform UK MP. Gary Costin, who had spent 15 years working for government contractors Mitie and G4S, was dismissed after a complaint about the message, which raised concerns about a Muslim lobbying group. In his post on X, Mr Tice, who was the leader of Reform UK at the time, had reacted to an article by GB News revealing that members of the Home Office's Islamic staff network sought to 'influence policymakers' to support 'Muslim needs'. A link to the post, which had already been captioned 'Uh oh', was then forwarded on by Mr Costin. The 57-year-old was then suspended, in April last year. Mr Costin, whose job was to remove some of the most violent foreign-born criminals from the UK, was then dismissed by Mitie despite the company accepting that he had not intended to cause any offence. The case will raise fresh questions about freedom of speech and follows rows about political correctness inside the department. During 15 years spent working for Home Office contractors, Mr Costin led teams that escorted foreign criminals on to flights back to their country of origin. This work involved taking murderers, rapists, drug dealers and other offenders back to countries including Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Somalia. But Mr Costin 'lost almost everything' after forwarding a single message he had received to a small WhatsApp group chat on April 14 2024. A list of the Islamic network's aims that had been seen by GB News included 'promote a clear understanding of generic Islam' and 'providing advice and guidance to senior civil service management on religious issues that affect Muslim staff'. In response, Mr Tice wrote: 'SHOCKING REVELATIONS: Large Islamic Network inside Home Office, now suspended, appears to have been deliberately undermining government policy. 'How many other departments have similar? Answers needed urgently. Possible national security issues at stake.' Mr Costin did not add any remarks of his own to the message he sent to the group chat. The following day, he learnt he had been suspended after an anonymous complaint to Mitie's whistleblowing hotline. He was later sacked after an anonymous co-worker claimed that by sharing the message, he had 'spread hatred' towards Muslims and that this was tantamount to 'bullying'. The complainant is also understood to have described the forwarded post as 'an insult to all my Muslim colleagues', adding it had 'done nothing but spread hate'. Ahead of a disciplinary hearing, Mitie claimed in a series of formal letters to Mr Costin that he had breached its social media and disciplinary policies 'by being potentially discriminating (sic)' and inappropriate. The company accepted during the hearing that Mr Costin did not mean to upset anyone, but it went on to argue that this was irrelevant. Mitie went on to claim that sharing the image was or could be 'perceived as offensive and racist by others'. Mr Costin said: 'I have lost almost everything. I have nothing whatsoever against Muslims. 'It was a purely factual message, on a small WhatsApp group we used to share information relevant to our work. 'It was normal to post news headlines that could affect overseas removals. I have absolutely no idea how anyone could see it as spreading hatred or bullying.' Mr Costin served as an armourer with the Royal Electric and Mechanical Engineers in Iraq, Northern Ireland and Kosovo, leaving with a good conduct medal before beginning his work for G4S and then Mitie. In 2018, he had a central role in a high-profile case in which the deportation of a gang rapist was thwarted by fellow plane passengers. A video on YouTube shows Mr Costin, who could not reveal the man's criminal record because of data protection laws, reasoning with passengers who were demanding the release of the deportee. Mr Costin added that the loss of his job and income had almost cost him his marriage to Dawn, an air hostess. 'I nearly lost, sorry, nearly lost my marriage,' he told Talk TV, fighting back tears. 'I lost my job. It's been hard. I had a decent car, which I've had to sell to keep my head above water. I could have lost my home.' 'A year on, I am still devastated – I never intended to cause any offence to anyone,' he said. He said the sacking drove him to depression. 'At the time, colleagues were frequently sharing news stories, including about the Rwanda scheme. 'I have probably not been given half a dozen jobs which I have applied for because as soon as they [employers] see the post, everyone sort of goes, 'Oh my God', and then doesn't want to hire me,' he said. 'I have lost my confidence. All I want is to clear my name.' Mr Costin added: 'I've just fought it with the help of my wife.' It follows several similar cases where employers have sacked staff over their support of Reform. Last week it emerged that Waitrose had suspended a wine expert for supporting Reform on social media and sharing a Matt cartoon from The Telegraph. Earlier this year, a housing officer was sacked for being a Reform UK candidate and reposting a Matt cartoon from The Telegraph. Toby Young, the secretary general of the Free Speech Union, said: 'Gary should never have been sacked for sharing a tweet by Richard Tice in a workplace group chat. 'He certainly wouldn't have been if he'd shared a tweet by Sir Keir Starmer or [Sir] Ed Davey. Had he decided to make a claim for unfair dismissal in the employment tribunal, I think he would have had a very strong case.' A spokesman for Mitie said: 'We don't comment on individual cases but there is zero tolerance for racism or discrimination of any type in our business.' The Home Office was contacted for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. 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Telegraph
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Home Office worker sacked for sharing post by Richard Tice
A man who worked for the Home Office was sacked for sharing a post made by Richard Tice, the Reform UK MP. Gary Costin, who had spent 15 years working for government contractors Mitie and G4S, was dismissed after a complaint about the message, which raised concerns about a Muslim lobbying group. In his post on X, Mr Tice, who was the leader of Reform UK at the time, had reacted to an article by GB News revealing that members of the Home Office's Islamic staff network sought to 'influence policymakers' to support 'Muslim needs'. A link to the post, which had already been captioned 'Uh oh', was then forwarded on by Mr Costin. The 57-year-old was then suspended, in April last year. Mr Costin, whose job was to remove some of the most violent foreign-born criminals from the UK, was then dismissed by Mitie despite the company accepting that he had not intended to cause any offence. The case will raise fresh questions about freedom of speech and follows rows about political correctness inside the department. During 15 years spent working for Home Office contractors, Mr Costin led teams that escorted foreign criminals on to flights back to their country of origin. This work involved taking murderers, rapists, drug dealers and other offenders back to countries including Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Somalia. But Mr Costin 'lost almost everything' after forwarding a single message he had received to a small WhatsApp group chat on April 14 2024. A list of the Islamic network's aims that had been seen by GB News included 'promote a clear understanding of generic Islam' and 'providing advice and guidance to senior civil service management on religious issues that affect Muslim staff'. In response, Mr Tice wrote: 'SHOCKING REVELATIONS: Large Islamic Network inside Home Office, now suspended, appears to have been deliberately undermining government policy. 'How many other departments have similar? Answers needed urgently. Possible national security issues at stake.' Mr Costin did not add any remarks of his own to the message he sent to the group chat. The following day, he learnt he had been suspended after an anonymous complaint to Mitie's whistleblowing hotline. He was later sacked after an anonymous co-worker claimed that by sharing the message, he had 'spread hatred' towards Muslims and that this was tantamount to 'bullying'. The complainant is also understood to have described the forwarded post as 'an insult to all my Muslim colleagues', adding it had 'done nothing but spread hate'. No upset meant Ahead of a disciplinary hearing, Mitie claimed in a series of formal letters to Mr Costin that he had breached its social media and disciplinary policies 'by being potentially discriminating (sic)' and inappropriate. The company accepted during the hearing that Mr Costin did not mean to upset anyone, but it went on to argue that this was irrelevant. Mitie went on to claim that sharing the image was or could be 'perceived as offensive and racist by others'. Mr Costin said: 'I have lost almost everything. I have nothing whatsoever against Muslims. 'It was a purely factual message, on a small WhatsApp group we used to share information relevant to our work. 'It was normal to post news headlines that could affect overseas removals. I have absolutely no idea how anyone could see it as spreading hatred or bullying.' Mr Costin served as an armourer with the Royal Electric and Mechanical Engineers in Iraq, Northern Ireland and Kosovo, leaving with a good conduct medal before beginning his work for G4S and then Mitie. In 2018, he had a central role in a high-profile case in which the deportation of a gang rapist was thwarted by fellow plane passengers. A video on YouTube shows Mr Costin, who could not reveal the man's criminal record because of data protection laws, reasoning with passengers who were demanding the release of the deportee. 'All I want is to clear my name' Mr Costin added that the loss of his job and income had almost cost him his marriage to Dawn, an air hostess. 'I nearly lost, sorry, nearly lost my marriage,' he told Talk TV, fighting back tears. 'I lost my job. It's been hard. I had a decent car, which I've had to sell to keep my head above water. I could have lost my home.' 'A year on, I am still devastated – I never intended to cause any offence to anyone,' he said. He said the sacking drove him to depression. 'At the time, colleagues were frequently sharing news stories, including about the Rwanda scheme. 'I have probably not been given half a dozen jobs which I have applied for because as soon as they [employers] see the post, everyone sort of goes, 'Oh my God', and then doesn't want to hire me,' he said. 'I have lost my confidence. All I want is to clear my name.' Mr Costin added: 'I've just fought it with the help of my wife.' It follows several similar cases where employers have sacked staff over their support of Reform. Last week it emerged that Waitrose had suspended a wine expert for supporting Reform on social media and sharing a Matt cartoon from The Telegraph. Earlier this year, a housing officer was sacked for being a Reform UK candidate and reposting a Matt cartoon from The Telegraph. Toby Young, the secretary general of the Free Speech Union, said: 'Gary should never have been sacked for sharing a tweet by Richard Tice in a workplace group chat. 'He certainly wouldn't have been if he'd shared a tweet by Sir Keir Starmer or [Sir] Ed Davey. Had he decided to make a claim for unfair dismissal in the employment tribunal, I think he would have had a very strong case.' A spokesman for Mitie said: 'We don't comment on individual cases but there is zero tolerance for racism or discrimination of any type in our business.'
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Adobe launches subscriptions for Firefly AI
Adobe is hoping to capitalize on the early success of its Firefly AI models by launching a new standalone subscription service that gives users access to the company's AI image, vector and video generating models. This marks Adobe's boldest attempt yet to turn its Firefly AI models into a real product. The company is also launching a redesigned webpage, where people can use Adobe's AI models. This includes the new Firefly AI video model, which is rolling out in public beta on the Firefly website and in the Premiere Pro Beta app. Firefly's Standard plan costs $9.99 per month and provides unlimited access to Adobe's AI image and vector generating features, as well as Adobe's new AI video model. The Standard plan gives users 2,000 credits, which is enough to make 20 five-second AI videos. Users can also connect Firefly plans to their Creative Cloud accounts to get unlimited AI image and vector generation in Photoshop, Express or other Adobe apps. Meanwhile, the Pro plan will run users $29.99 a month, and offers enough credits to generate 70 five-second AI videos per month. The company is also working on a "Premium" tier (it hasn't announced pricing for this yet) that lets users create 500 AI videos per month, according to Adobe's VP of Generative AI, Alexandru Costin. Previously, Adobe offered many of Firefly's AI tools within its existing Creative Cloud subscriptions, letting users try the new tools for no added cost. Users could upgrade to pricier plans if they wanted more access to Firefly, but they didn't have to. That system worked well for Adobe: Firefly's generative fill feature, added to Photoshop in 2023, has become one of the company's most popular new features of the last decade. Now, Adobe wants to see if users will also pay up for its Firefly AI models. The Firefly video model lets you turn text or images into a five-second, AI-generated video. There are controls on a side panel for changing the camera angles, camera movement, aspect ratio, and other features that creative professionals might want to customize. The new Firefly offerings will compete directly with OpenAI's Sora, Runway's Gen-3 Alpha, and other AI video models that already have dedicated webpages and subscription plans. Google DeepMind's AI video model, Veo, seems to be a legitimate contender in the space as well, but it's still in private beta. Part of Adobe's pitch to creative professionals is that Firefly was trained on a dataset of licensed videos, without any brand logos or NSFW content (something the company paid quite a bit to do). That means, according to Adobe, creatives should be able to use the Firefly AI models without worrying about legal troubles. "We think the key differentiator for us is that we're the only IP-friendly, commercially-safe video model," Costin said in an interview with TechCrunch. "We want to differentiate with deep understanding of customer problems." Adobe has also tried to ship AI tools that solve problems for creative professionals instead of just generating random AI videos. For example, one of Firefly's AI video features, Generative Extend, lets users extend any clip's video and background noise by a few seconds. This is one of the more practical AI video tools on the market; other AI models just let you create new videos from scratch, or animate photos. Costin says Adobe is working on another AI video tool to help with pre-production. The tool, which has yet to be announced, would help get creatives aligned on the same vision by creating a rough sketch of what a scene, or string of scenes, would look like. However, Adobe needs to walk a fine line with generative AI. Many professionals who have used Adobe's apps for decades are upset about the rise of generative AI tools in their industries. The technology poses a threat to their livelihoods as they risk having their work automated away to an AI model — like the ones Adobe is building. But Adobe is convinced this is where the puck is going in the creative world.
