Amazon has introduced the Titan Image Generator, joining the league of numerous tech giants and startups that have already ventured into image generation. Unveiled during a keynote at the AWS re:Invent 2023 conference, the Titan Image Generator is now in preview for AWS customers on Bedrock, Amazon’s AI development platform. As a component of Amazon’s Titan generative AI models, it empowers users to craft new images based on textual descriptions or modify existing ones.
According to Swami Sivasubramanian, VP for data and machine learning services at AWS, users can effortlessly alter image backgrounds, such as swapping out a current background for a rainforest setting. The model allows for seamless background swaps to generate diverse lifestyle images while preserving the primary subject and creating additional options.
Amazon asserts that the Titan Image Generator underwent training on a diverse array of datasets spanning various domains. It can also be optionally fine-tuned on custom datasets and incorporates built-in measures to address toxicity and bias, although the effectiveness of these measures remains to be thoroughly tested. Amazon did not disclose the sources of these datasets or clarify whether it obtained permission from and compensated the creators of the images used for training.
Sivasubramanian emphasized on-stage that Amazon will defend customers against copyright infringement accusations related to images generated by the Titan Image Generator, aligning with its AI indemnification policy. This assurance may alleviate concerns for AWS customers regarding the inadvertent replication of training examples by generative models.
Concerns about intellectual property (IP) were highlighted in a survey of Fortune 500 companies, where nearly a third identified it as their primary worry regarding generative AI usage. Sivasubramanian emphasized Amazon’s careful approach to model training and data selection, aiming to provide customers with flexibility in choosing models that align with their evolving needs.
Images produced by the Titan Image Generator will include a default “tamper-resistant” invisible watermark, an effort to combat the spread of AI-generated misinformation and abusive imagery. Sivasubramanian clarified that this watermarking aligns with the voluntary commitment Amazon made with the White House in July. However, details about the watermarking technique and its detectability by tools beyond Amazon’s API remain unclear, prompting queries to Amazon for clarification.
