It is an exciting time to see so many applications of artificial intelligence in the volume photography industry. A studio we talked to recently felt if they did not plug AI into every facet of their business, that they would be left behind in the competition. We do not know if that is true. But we went on to say, while we do believe AI is going to improve our industry, deciding which AI providers you choose to use is just as important. As you explore the possibilities of integrating AI services into your photography workflow, it is crucial to make informed decisions. We at H&H understand the importance of doing the right thing in the right way. Here are some key questions that will help you evaluate any AI services provider:
Infrastructure:
- Where are the servers located? (Cloud, hosted servers, or local computers)
- Is the service international, and if so, in which regions?
Model Training:
- Whose images, data, and labor were used to train the AI models?
- Will your images, data, or labor be used to train machine learning models, and if so, how?
Ownership and Payment:
- Who owns the technology, and how is the AI service provider compensated?
- Does anyone assume ownership or usage rights for the data or images you submit?
Data Access and Retention:
- What systems outside of the AI service provider have access to the images or data?
- How long are your images or data stored after the completion of the AI task you requested?
- Who has access to your data or images within the AI service provider’s organization?
Security Measures:
- What security measures are in place during the transport of images and data?
- Are subsystems constrained to operate within the security perimeter of the organization? Or do they send data or images outside this secured infrastructure?
- What cyber insurance does the AI service provider carry?
Notification Protocols:
- If any of the aforementioned items change, how will you be notified?
Asking these questions is crucial to ensuring a transparent and secure integration of AI into your photography business. However, you choose to apply AI in your business, at the end of the day, it should allow you to enjoy increased productivity and ease of doing business in a way that builds trust with your clients.