Q: My boyfriend is a huge Google nerd and we watched the launch of the Pixel 9 phones a few days ago. However, the presentation was all about AI and how it is completely changing photography. My question now is, will we ever be able to trust that a photo is truthful again?
A: The launch of Google’s new Android phone series has indeed been a love affair with AI more than anything else. Google is trying to catch up with its Gemini AI system, and I’ll be honest: the upcoming AI-powered features on the Pixel are pretty damn impressive!
My favorite part is the phone’s future ability to scan screenshots, allowing the user to extend their memory by capturing what they see on the screen and then asking about it later – a truly brilliant idea that redefines the purpose of screenshots.
The heart of the #MadeByGoogle demos, however, were the photo editing tools. They are based on Gemini and build on existing Android editing features like Magic Eraser, which lets you remove elements from a photo and blend a background seamlessly.
Super-intelligent photo editing
With all the new features, you can not only remove people from photos, but also center crooked images, correct horizon lines, and more. Add Me lets you add yourself to group photos even though you took the photo yourself.
There’s also a new, far more powerful generative fill feature that lets you tap part of a photo and replace it with anything you describe to the Gemini AI engine. Make a photo more atmospheric by replacing the bright blue sky with dark, ominous clouds? Easy. Move the subject from a busy square to a peaceful meadow? No problem.
You can even create a synthetic portrait photo where everyone is smiling at the same time, which is not so easy (especially with children or babies!).
Unintended consequences?
The result is that photos no longer reflect what the photographer saw at that moment. Photos are becoming increasingly less credible.
To be fair, though, photography has long served both journalists who want to capture a moment and artists who want to use these tools for self-expression. Digital manipulation is so common that the word Photoshop has become a verb, as in “Did you Photoshop those vultures into your ex’s picture?”
Perhaps what has really changed is not the power of the tools, but their accessibility. At the turn of the millennium, a skilled photo editor could replace a sunny sky with a cloudy one, but today this is just a keystroke away.
For better or for worse.
TIP: Watch the “#MadeByGoogle” keynote for the Pixel 9: youtube.com/watch?v=jvyyfvf0gjI
Dave Taylor has been active in the online world since the early days of the Internet. He runs the popular tech Q&A site AskDaveTaylor.com and invites you to subscribe to his weekly email newsletter at AskDaveTaylor.com/subscribe/. You can also find his entertaining gadget reviews on YouTube at YouTube.com/AskDaveTaylor.
