Google revealed yesterday that the new Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro will feature a suite of groundbreaking features and advanced AI tools in Google Photos. Aimed at refining user memories, these features represent the biggest changes for Google Photos to date.
AI-Forward Photo Features Revolutionize Pixel
Designed with an AI-focus, the new Pixel phones bring photo-editing techniques that ordinarily require expensive software skills, into the hands of everyday users. This is achieved through features such as Magic Editor, which uses generative AI to alter scenes, remove distractions and reposition subjects within an image. Google initially introduced Magic Editor at its I/O event earlier this year.
Audio Magic Eraser is another feature that will allow users to isolate audio tracks in videos to minimize distracting sounds, while Best Take enables users to choose the best facial expressions from a sequence of similar photos and merge them into a single perfect image. According to Google, this suite of new features empowers Google Photos to transform from a platform that only saves photos into one that catalogues complex, dynamic memories.
Navigating the Intricacies of Generative AI Usage in Google Photos
While this widespread accessibility to photo-editing techniques raises questions about the delicate balance between ‘acceptable' and ‘unacceptable' alterations to images, Google is set to commit to adding metadata to indicate images edited with generative AI. This move comes in an attempt to maintain transparency during the photo-sharing process.
Google Photos is emphasizing its role as a personal image repository rather an all-purpose photo-editing tool, and it plans to design an interface that affords users total control over their editing choices. Much of the company's effort focuses on the user's agency in image selection and editing decisions.
‘Memories' Take Center Stage in the Age of Generative AI
As generative AI becomes increasingly ubiquitous, Google Photos aims to become a platform that allows the personalization of images so they closely resemble people's memories. Consequently, the company is set to redefine the concept of ‘truth' in photography amidst its ability to manipulate images.
Google also emphasized its commitment to AI in other areas during the Pixel 8 launch. Specifically, the company announced that Google Assistant is now a full generative AI tool thanks to an integration with the Bard chatbot. This enhanced assistant can help in planning trips, retrieving email details, and even generating grocery lists.
Integrated with Google's existing apps like Gmail and Docs, it aids in information retrieval and summarization. Users can interact via text, voice, or images. A notable feature allows users to overlay The Bard on photos, prompting the Assistant with Bard to generate captions, even suggesting relevant hashtags. Google emphasizes the user privacy settings, with a rollout to early testers planned before its broader release on Android and iOS in the upcoming months.
