Google Photos is making it much easier to identify any photos that have been edited using generative AI. With so many apps and services now integrating generative AI photo editing, this feature will go a long way toward transparency within media.
Starting next week, Google Photos is introducing a new ‘AI info’ section that’ll be available within the image details. If a photo’s lighting, image crop, etc. is altered using AI, Google Photos will now make that more identifiable. Naturally, this also extends to more obvious uses of AI such as the removal of objects using Magic Eraser.
In a blog post, John Fisher, Engineering Director of Google Photos and Google One, discusses how photos edited with Magic Eraser, Magic Editor, and Zoom Enhance already include metadata based on technical standards from The International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC). “Now we’re taking it a step further, making this information visible alongside information like the file name, location and backup status in the Photos app,” Fisher says.
Once this feature rolls out, Google Photos will display a notice. For instance, the credit lists “Edited by Google AI.” The digital source type will also highlight that the image was “edited using generating AI.”
However, this feature isn’t exclusive to generative AI-edited photos. Google Photos will also specify if an image contains elements from several photos. This will be handy in identifying images that use Pixel’s Best Take and Add Me features which layer multiple images and objects into one “master photo.”
“This work is not done, and we’ll continue gathering feedback and evaluating additional solutions to add more transparency around AI edits,” Fisher states.
As generative AI tools become far more accessible, it’s important to highlight the legitimacy of images. AI-edited images raise red flags when it comes to authenticity. In some cases, flagrant photos edited with AI are used maliciously. Unfortunately, there is also a gullible audience online that isn’t able to identify the differences between realistic photography and generative AI images.
Image credit: Google
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