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Adobe workers have complained about their employer in an internal messaging channel, slamming the company over its recent AI-related controversy.
In the messages revealed by Business Insider, employees vented their frustrations following a controversial update to Adobe’s terms of service.
Under the update, Adobe announced it would use user content through “automated and manual methods” for various purposes, with many customers fearing this could include using images to train AI models.
Angry customers hit back at the tech company over the update, which it promptly promised to roll back.
However, Adobe employees have not let the matter slide, and have grown increasingly frustrated with their employer and its stance on AI, as well as how it communicates with its customers and workers.
Messages posted on an internal Slack channel show disgruntled workers complaining about how the company handled the incident, and suggesting the company is living up to a reputation of being “evil.”
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“If our goal is truly to prioritize our users’ best interests (which, to be honest, I sometimes question), it’s astonishing how poor our communication can be,” one worker wrote. “The general perception is: Adobe is an evil company that will do whatever it takes to F its users.”
Other employees echoed this post, noting that Adobe’s communication strategy was insufficient, resulting in a vast amount of misinformation about its policies and products.
“Watching the misinformation spread on social media like wildfire is really disheartening,” another worker stated.
According to Business Insider, Adobe workers were told to avoid discussing the terms of service publicly, and instead direct customers to a blog post on the topic.
The worker also suggested Adobe’s terms of service updates and overall communication strategy is damaging its reputation with its customers. “Still, a loud ‘F Adobe’ and ‘Cancel Adobe’ rhetoric is happening within the independent creator community that needs to be addressed,” they added.
Another employee supported this perspective. “Let’s avoid becoming like IBM, which seems to be surviving primarily due to its entrenched market position and legacy systems,” they wrote.
Although Adobe has said it has readjusted the terms of service, it still plans introduce some updates before June 18.
“At Adobe, there is no ambiguity in our stance, our commitment to our customers, and innovating responsibly in this space. We welcome the opportunity to clarify our terms and our commitments and address concerns with our customers and community,” a spokesperson told Business Insider.
Not all workers are convinced.
One employees believes the backpedal from the company is not good enough, and questioned how similar events could be prevented in the future, writing: “What are we doing meaningfully to prevent this, or is this only acted on when called out?”
