Apple fears artificial intelligence will remove realism and make photos ‘imaginary’

Apple is interested in providing tools that make photos look like fantasy, said Craig Federighi, the company’s head of software. In an interview with Wall StreetJournalthe manager states: the company put a lot of thought into adding artificial intelligence (AI) to the native editor.

The manager asked, “Do we want to make it easier to remove the water bottle or microphone?” he asked. “That bottle of water was there when you took the photo,” he added.

AI-powered editing tools I’ve been around for a long time. Google Photos’ Magic Eraser, which removes or camouflages image elements, has been widely available on Android and iOS since February 2023.

But, Apple will only offer an equivalent solution in iOS 18.1“Cleaning” function. The tool allows you to remove objects, people, and other elements from photos when deploying them in the editor.

But competition already has much more robust functions. For example, Samsung Galaxy AI allows you to add objects, animals, and other AI-generated details at any time.

Apple wants photos to be realistic

According to Federighi, this restriction stems from Apple’s vision for digital records. The manager states: Maça is concerned about the impact of artificial intelligence on the public’s perspective on the authenticity of photographs.

Although it has a native renderer, Apple Intelligence doesn’t have any native tools for adding elements to images. Additionally, all files modified by Clean Up will be identified with a specific tag that highlights the AI-generated edit.

The conversation with Federighi revives an old debate about what photography is. The issue has been on the agenda since image processing tools commonly used in the most banal photographs began to become widespread in the smartphone world.

What is photography?

This issue gained further attention when Samsung was accused of faking Moon photos on the Galaxy S22 and S23. Recording the moon will not exactly be a camera click, but the result of advanced image processing software.

Although Apple introduced advanced filters in the Camera app in iOS 18, tends to be much more conventional in terms of capture. Yes, there is image processing via software, but the captures are generally accurate recordings of real life.

Naturally, public perception changes over time, and it is possible for artificial intelligence-supported regulations to become the standard. In this case, only the future will tell whether Apple will bow to market pressure.