The upcoming Google Photos Magic Editor is cool, but I don’t like it

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Hadlee Simons / Android Authority

Magic Editor in Google Photos offers many opportunities but will require significant safeguards.

Google’s blockbuster screening at Google I/O began with an AI-infused look at the future of virtually every popular Google product. But among all the improvements and aids coming to the company’s workspace and research portfolio, there is one that has raised the most intrigue and concern for me. Magic Editor, a new editing feature in Google Photos, brings generative image manipulation to an app used by over a billion people. I shudder at the thought of the implications.

Are you excited to check out Magic Editor in Google Photos?

449 votes

Yes, I see it as a powerful editing tool.

84%

No, I think it goes too far.

16%

It’s a matter of authenticity

I’ve long been skeptical of the future of AI promised by the tech industry at large. While I have begrudgingly adopted some tools within my daily workflow, I remain wary of these tools’ ethical and practical limitations. Also, I care about authenticity.

The name makes it pretty obvious, but Magic Editor will let you manipulate objects within photos by moving them around or creating elements to give more context. It’s an evolution of the Magic Eraser that comes to Pixel phones like the all-new Pixel 7a. Google’s Magic Editor examples show a photograph of a woman moving further to the right to place her hand under a waterfall instead of next to it. Another example showed an image of a baby and using generative AI to stretch the frame and add more bubbles next to it.

For me a photograph is the recording of a moment and a memory. The mere idea of ​​completely manipulating a photograph to add or remove what may not have been there or the actual setting sets off alarm bells in my head. It’s a slippery slope towards nullifying the very concept of photography as a recording of a moment, and I don’t like it.

Google Photo Magic Editor lets you create your own version of reality

My colleague Aamir made an interesting point as part of an ongoing discussion in our internal Android Authority Slack group. Images capture a moment but not our version of reality. AI can help us achieve that and help us change a not-so-perfect photo into our version of perfection or our memory of that moment. It can make you create a photograph that represents the memory you want to perceive.

Adding one-click manipulation to the world’s most popular photo editor comes with a big responsibility.

But I don’t agree with this. Ever since the first photograph was taken in 1826, the photographs have served as documents. There’s a reason the term photographic memory exists. Ansel Adams has done everything to capture the beauty of nature, moments of emotion through pure art and not manipulation. Joe Rosenthal’s Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima perfectly captures a historic moment that helped end WWII. Interestingly, Rosenthal spent his entire life defending claims that he posed his photograph of him even though he hadn’t. At a time when citizen journalism and online sharing are the norm, the power to radically alter an image from reality comes with many responsibilities. I’m not sure that launching one-click manipulation features in the world’s most popular photo app without proper protections is the right approach.

AI-powered editing is the future

Hadlee Simons / Android Authority

Before I hang myself on a cross for my inhibitions about the wider incorporation of AI-powered technology, let me be clear. I’ve made peace with the AI ​​additions to photography. Whether it’s the idea of ​​computational imaging or making adjustments to an imperfect sky, maybe even a touch of face retouching. I know it’s all a departure from reality, but a tweak or tweak is a long way from creating an alternate reality.

It has always been possible to drastically alter an image, but bringing it into the mainstream risks creating a world of deceptive images.

I’m not against the idea of ​​image manipulation. Cleaning dust spots from photos or removing a bad power cord is an integral part of image post-processing. However, the ability to alter the objects and subjects in a photograph at the touch of a button rubs me the wrong way about the possibilities it opens up. You could manipulate people, a former flame or a family member in old captures to reshuffle a photograph however you like. However, it risks crossing a thin invisible line. At what point does a photograph turn into a lie or a figment of the imagination?

Image manipulation has always been possible; Google Photos Magic Editor makes it too easy

Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

It has always been possible to use Photoshop tools like clone masking to manipulate photos. But bringing that ability to change reality at the touch of a button runs the risk of creating a whole world of deceived images.

Another colleague, avid photographer Edgar Cervantes, shared his experience using AI tools to create a memorable photograph as part of a wedding photography assignment. He suggests photographers should learn to integrate AI tools into their process instead of fearing them. And that ultimately depends on the photograph and its purpose.

AI-powered image manipulation is here to stay, but its use should depend on photography and its purpose.

This last point, in particular, is fundamental to ensure adequate safeguards in view of a widespread launch of the generative alteration of the image. And no, including markers for AI manipulation in metadata isn’t enough. A visible marker denoting an altered image would be the right start until technology can adequately separate such images across the wider internet.

I haven’t tried Google’s Magic Editor yet. As a company that appears to be taking a responsible approach to AI, I’m guessing Google has taken steps to limit the amount of image manipulation possible. But I dislike this inevitable future of escapism where we choose to eliminate or manipulate unsavory elements instead of bypassing them or recognizing the moment for what it was. However, with over a billion users, I have no doubt that the Google Photos feature will see significant adoption and shape the conversation around smarter image manipulation.

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