Users can find if an image has been altered with AI in the photo details, under file name and size.
Starting next week, Google Photos will show users if an image has been edited with Google’s AI tools such as Magic Editor or Magic Eraser on the Photos app.
While the app already noted if an image was edited using AI tools in its metadata, which meant it was rarely if ever seen by users, now, the software giant behind the AI chatbot Gemini will make the information available to users of the Photos app in the Details section under other basic information such as file name and size.
“As we bring these tools to more people, we recognise the importance of doing so responsibly,” the software giant said in an announcement yesterday (24 October). “This work is not done, and we’ll continue gathering feedback and evaluating additional solutions to add more transparency around AI edits.”
According to the International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC) standards, that Google follows, the “role” of a generative AI tool should be noted in the photo contributor field. “Contributors are people and things that contributed to the creation of the image, so this includes what an AI generator does,” the IPTC explains.
In addition to adding this information, Google will also indicate when an image is composed of elements from different photos using non-generative features. “For example, ‘Best Take’ on Pixel 8 and Pixel 9, and ‘Add Me’ on Pixel 9 use images captured close together in time to create a blended image to help you capture great group photos,” Google explained.
Google’s AI-powered “realistic” editing tools such as Magic Editor, Magic Eraser and Photo Unblur were made free this May for anyone using Google Photos.
Google’s new Pixel 9 phones have many integrated AI tools, which has worried some users, who are concerned that it will had become too difficult to spot real from fake images.
The company joined the C2PA coalition as a steering committee member earlier this year, working towards increasing online transparency, and as a result, its popular video streaming platform YouTube recently started showing if content uploaded to its service has been edited using AI – although the feature is still in its infancy.
While Meta and TikTok have also begun labelling AI content on their platforms.
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