“Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?”

That question from Westworld, which had a phenomenal first season and then… went to Cold Storage, has been on my mind since seeing the Pixel’s editing capabilities in Google Photos. However, my hesitation dates back to the Camouflage feature announced at I/O 2022.  

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Magic Eraser removes objects, while Camouflage changes their color to make them less distracting. The example Google used on stage was a brightly colored cooler that stood out in a beach picture. Instead of being neon green, it took on the beige color of sand so that the focus shifted to the subject.

I am more comfortable with straight object removal than changing the fundamental appearance of a thing. The former feels much more likely on any picture I encounter in the world given my modern expectations for imagery in a post-Photoshop era.

Back in May, Google announced Magic Editor as the latest editing feature. I described it as generative AI making possible drag-and-drop Photoshop. Launching on the Pixel 8, you can:

  • “reposition the subject of your shot to the best spot”
  • “relocate and change the scale of your subject”
  • “remove the bag strap you forgot to take off” 
  • “make the sky brighter and less cloudy, so it matches how you remember that day”

This is more than making a fix/edit in my mind because it changes the objective truth of the moment the photo was taken. To me, it feels dangerously close – and I hope this doesn’t come off as being alarmist – to altering memories and the nature of what actually happened at a place and time. It’s the exact opposite of what I’d consider to be the main reason people take photos. 

Then there’s Best Take, which I’m actually slightly more okay with, as I think the degree of change is inconsequential as the feature actually uses shots that happened (a moment or two before) to make the final image. 

The availability of this feature is also limited to having a Pixel phone and actually taking the needed shots. In contrast, Magic Editor works on everything, and I think the reach and ease of use is something that society isn’t ready for. Moving subjects and changing the sky are not obvious changes that people are conditioned to expect or at least be suspicious of. 

In using these features, the other line from Westworld that sticks with me is, “If you can’t tell, does it matter?”

In the context of Magic Editor, I’d like to think so. With generative AI, more than any other technology, I’ve felt like a luddite at times. At the same time, I’m a big fan of technological progress impacting the world for the better and making widely available what was once limited.

My issue with Magic Editor is not that it shouldn’t exist, but how there should be explicit warnings on the final output that this is not the original image. That would be of service to the public, more so than the person altering the photo. I think the editor is more than allowed to change the photo to their liking in their library. However, once it’s distributed, I think the editing tool has the responsibility of conveying the presence of changes. 

Human memory is not perfect, and photos are one of the few ways we have to preserve and cement moments. We shouldn’t be so quick to embrace things that try to needlessly alter that.

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