How Reverse-Engineering, AI-Coding, and Copyright Law Could Upend the Software Industry (and hopefully kill Adobe)
Reverse-engineering in software is a process by which a coder recreates a program by studying how it functions, and making a copy of it.
Recently, there were articles about a new company, ArtCraft, that used AI-coding tools to recreate the Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Premiere, InDesign, etc.), selling copies of Adobe's programs for free.
As a "creative" and media worker, news like this gets me excited because in the last decade, companies like Adobe have changed to subscription models, and customers have become like digital serfs, paying ever-increasing monthly rents if they want to keep access to their precious media projects.
I myself had a painful divorce from Avid and ProTools. After Avid ended my "perpetual" license and tried to make me subscribe, I refused, lost access to ProTools on my computer, and three years worth of audio projects.
In this case with ArtCraft, their copies of the Adobe Suite apparently don't work well. That's what I'd expect from software built from the ground up with AI-coding tools, as LLMs are error-prone (they "hallucinate") and software is error-sensitive. Thankfully, the project of undermining Adobe's exploitive business model has been underway for years--here's a list of Adobe alternatives, many of which can even open Adobe files like .psd.
Reverse-engineering in the software industry has a long and rebellious history. For example, it's how Apple broke Microsoft's Office Suite monopoly in the early 2000's. Microsoft was forcing Apple users to buy their products by making it impossible to open Microsoft Word/Excel/Powerpoint files on an Apple computer. By reverse-engineering Microsoft's Office Suite, Apple made Pages/Numbers/Keynote, programs which exported files that could be opened in Microsoft's Office/Excel/Powerpoint, and vice versa. Apple broke their monopoly, and paved the way for other companies, like Google's Docs/Sheets/Slides. I would not expect AI tools or LLMs to fundamentally change reverse-engineering.
But, intrigued by ArtCraft's attempt, I read into it more and discovered that AI-coding tools (in the right hands) do have a potential that is alarming and fascinating software engineers with far more expertise than myself (full disclosure: I am not a coder).
What surprised me was how AI-coding tools are challenging the existing copyright regime around reverse-engineering software. Because these tools speed up the coding process so much, it's enabled smaller groups of coders like ArtCraft to make copies of complex programs that outwardly look and function like the originals they're mimicking, but are internally unrecognizable.
The code is completely different, which, under existing copyright laws, would make it more likely for ArtCraft's adobe copies to be considered legal.
They also may not be legal, particularly if any of the source code for Adobe's software was in the training data of the AI tools that ArtCraft used.
Most interesting to me is that this legal question is still unsettled. We'll watch it play out in court, perhaps between ArtCraft and Adobe (if ArtCraft can get their copies to function). It will not be AI-coding tools that define the next era of the software industry. It will be copyright law, and whether the law enables small companies and individuals to reverse-engineer software products, or expands copyright protections for big tech. AI-coding tools, however, do seem to be pushing the law to change one way or another.
If you made it this far you may have some knowledge of what I'm talking about, please recommend me content to read/watch/listen to. If you're a coder, here's an EFF legal guide on reverse-engineering you may find interesting. Also a couple of blog posts on the subject.
2 points
I am anti LLM by many means, but I do believe it is possible (setting aside some moral quandaries just for the sake of argument) to accelerate the development of software in a meaningful way using them. But doing so requires a strictly defined process of incrementalism, incorporating human expertise and intervention, treating the LLM as a tool and not as magic and as much of a potential liability as a benefit. Anyone serious about developing a graphics editor or replicating Photoshop software who doesn't have professionals - both developers and from the industry - involved isn't serious. A project of that scale should still take months at least to do properly even with AI. Posting whatever Claude spits out over a weekend and declaring coding "solved" is clown shit.
The problem is many AI developers don't want to have to care about the code, or human expertise. They consider the process beneath them. They want to trust the LLM implicitly, believing in its superior intelligence. They want to already be living in the sci-fi post scarcity post singularity universe where they can just say "Computer make me a photoshop" and it just happens, perfectly and without error. And all else being equal... that attitude will never lead to quality software, it will only lead to vibecoded slop.
It's sad because there are already plenty of open source alternatives to Adobe[0], but none of them are AI generated, so no one is going to bother trying to support or contribute to them. Except with vibe-coded slop PRs.
[0]KenneyNL/Adobe-Alternatives
Mentions
@br1ghtestlight @monopurplee This site has alternatives KenneyNL/Adobe-Alternatives
Shout out to KenneyNL/Adobe-Alternatives. Gotta be one of my favorite genders
How Reverse-Engineering, AI-Coding, and Copyright Law Could Upend the Software Industry (and hopefully kill Adobe) Reverse-engineering in software is a process by which a coder recreates a program by studying how it functions, and making a copy of it. Recently, there were articles about a new company, ArtCraft, that used AI-coding tools to recreate the Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Premiere, InDesign, etc.), selling copies of Adobe's programs for free. As a "creative" and media worker, news like this gets me excited because in the last decade, companies like Adobe have changed to subscription models, and customers have become like digital serfs, paying ever-increasing monthly rents if they want to keep access to their precious media projects. I myself had a painful divorce from Avid and ProTools. After Avid ended my "perpetual" license and tried to make me subscribe, I refused, lost access to ProTools on my computer, and three years worth of audio projects. In this case with ArtCraft, their copies of the Adobe Suite apparently don't work well. That's what I'd expect from software built from the ground up with AI-coding tools, as LLMs are error-prone (they "hallucinate") and software is error-sensitive. Thankfully, the project of undermining Adobe's exploitive business model has been underway for years--here's a list of Adobe alternatives, many of which can even open Adobe files like .psd. Reverse-engineering in the software industry has a long and rebellious history. For example, it's how Apple broke Microsoft's Office Suite monopoly in the early 2000's. Microsoft was forcing Apple users to buy their products by making it impossible to open Microsoft Word/Excel/Powerpoint files on an Apple computer. By reverse-engineering Microsoft's Office Suite, Apple made Pages/Numbers/Keynote, programs which exported files that could be opened in Microsoft's Office/Excel/Powerpoint, and vice versa. Apple broke their monopoly, and paved the way for other companies, like Google's Docs/Sheets/Slides. I would not expect AI tools or LLMs to fundamentally change reverse-engineering. But, intrigued by ArtCraft's attempt, I read into it more and discovered that AI-coding tools (in the right hands) do have a potential that is alarming and fascinating software engineers with far more expertise than myself (full disclosure: I am not a coder). What surprised me was how AI-coding tools are challenging the existing copyright regime around reverse-engineering software. Because these tools speed up the coding process so much, it's enabled smaller groups of coders like ArtCraft to make copies of complex programs that outwardly look and function like the originals they're mimicking, but are internally unrecognizable. The code is completely different, which, under existing copyright laws, would make it more likely for ArtCraft's adobe copies to be considered legal. They also may not be legal, particularly if any of the source code for Adobe's software was in the training data of the AI tools that ArtCraft used. Most interesting to me is that this legal question is still unsettled. We'll watch it play out in court, perhaps between ArtCraft and Adobe (if ArtCraft can get their copies to function). It will not be AI-coding tools that define the next era of the software industry. It will be copyright law, and whether the law enables small companies and individuals to reverse-engineer software products, or expands copyright protections for big tech. AI-coding tools, however, do seem to be pushing the law to change one way or another. If you made it this far you may have some knowledge of what I'm talking about, please recommend me content to read/watch/listen to. If you're a coder, here's an EFF legal guide on reverse-engineering you may find interesting. Also a couple of blog posts on the subject.
@LukasHozda But is it possible now given this... KenneyNL/Adobe-Alternatives
@GunterLover12 @ThisIsFl0wery @impurrfect_real To start with, I’m Mexican; I’m also struggling with the high dollar exchange rate, and I understand what it’s like to be of a certain age and unable to work, but I’ve already given you a free alternative – do you want more? Here you go: KenneyNL/Adobe-Alternatives
Fuck Adobe; find something just as good if not better, and MANY ARE FREE and OPEN-USE. #Adobe KenneyNL/Adobe-Alternatives
por mais q eu goste de ver essas grandes empresas se fodendo, não sou fã de coisa vibecoded aqui tem uma lista atualizada de várias alternativas ao pacote adobe, salvem e espalhem por aí!! vejo falarem mt bem do pacote affinity btw KenneyNL/Adobe-Alternatives
por mais q eu goste de ver essas grandes empresas se fodendo, não sou fã de coisa vibecoded aqui tem uma lista atualizada de várias alternativas ao pacote adobe, salvem e espalhem por aí!! vejo falarem mt bem do pacote affinity btw KenneyNL/Adobe-Alternatives
I am anti LLM by many means, but I do believe it is possible (setting aside some moral quandaries just for the sake of argument) to accelerate the development of software in a meaningful way using them. But doing so requires a strictly defined process of incrementalism, incorporating human expertise and intervention, treating the LLM as a tool and not as magic and as much of a potential liability as a benefit. Anyone serious about developing a graphics editor or replicating Photoshop software who doesn't have professionals - both developers and from the industry - involved isn't serious. A project of that scale should still take months at least to do properly even with AI. Posting whatever Claude spits out over a weekend and declaring coding "solved" is clown shit. The problem is many AI developers don't want to have to care about the code, or human expertise. They consider the process beneath them. They want to trust the LLM implicitly, believing in its superior intelligence. They want to already be living in the sci-fi post scarcity post singularity universe where they can just say "Computer make me a photoshop" and it just happens, perfectly and without error. And all else being equal... that attitude will never lead to quality software, it will only lead to vibecoded slop. It's sad because there are already plenty of open source alternatives to Adobe[0], but none of them are AI generated, so no one is going to bother trying to support or contribute to them. Except with vibe-coded slop PRs. [0]KenneyNL/Adobe-Alternatives
Instead of that AI decompiled slop, download some quality software made by humans: KenneyNL/Adobe-Alternatives