I had no problem erasing the couple vaping on their beach towels. They were in the background of my vacation photos and ruined the mood. With the Google Pixel's Magic Editor feature, I was able to quickly erase them with just a few taps. And guess what? I'm happy with it. It's drawn the line I struggle with.
My vacation photos, taken on my iPhone and edited on my Pixel 8 Pro, are exactly what Google's generative AI editing features were designed for: We went to the beach on Lake Michigan to watch the sunset, and I snapped an adorable photo of my baby sitting on my husband's shoulders — a moment I'd like to crystallize and bottle forever.
The original photo (left) and the edited “photo” (right).
Except for a couple of fools in the background. Three taps in the Magic Editor and they're gone. But in the meantime, start considering other things in the scene you can change. What about those couple of cars in the parking lot behind you? What about those trash cans in the distance? Could you emphasize the glow of the sunset a bit more?
After tinkering with the AI tools, I realized that it could do all of those things, but with all these changes, could I still call it a vacation photo? Or did I cross over into “this isn't a photo, this is a memory” territory? At that point, I felt a bit sick and quickly closed the app.
Things are about to get even weirder. The Pixel 9 series launches on August 22nd with a whole new level of generative AI tools that will let you “reimagine” entire photos. You'll be able to use AI to add objects or scenery to your images with text prompts, or merge two different frames to get everyone in a group photo. Not only will you be able to tweak the background and lighting in your vacation photos, you'll be able to change the location entirely. Erasing a few parked cars will be nothing compared to what happens a few days later.
Not everyone can stomach it, like me. In fact, some are running full speed in the opposite direction. iPhone camera app maker Halide just released a new mode called Process Zero that skips AI and multi-frame processing, rewinding the clock to early phone cameras before computational photography. And Gen Z is fueling a resurgence of vintage digital cameras, clamoring for a grittier, lo-fi aesthetic that's not available from modern phone camera apps optimized for enhancing shadows, boosting saturation, and brightening faces.
Personally, I'd stick with the native camera app and make the most of every pixel. But this is an obvious reaction to the data-heavy technology we're all familiar with, and it's similar to the backlash to Google's recent Summer Olympics fiasco, where the company ran an ad in which a father used Gemini to help his daughter write a fan letter to her favorite athlete. Many were put off by the ad, arguing that the point was to actually write such a letter. Google eventually took the ad down.
Imperfection can be the key
The problem is, imperfections are sometimes meaningful. Putting in the effort to craft a heartfelt letter, word for word, is what makes it meaningful; smoothing out the edges makes the final product inherently less human. I think Gen Z's fascination with disconnected, “dumb” digital cameras reflects a similar impulse: if everything is too good, it feels less personal.
As with any digital process, we will all find our own comfort with generative AI photo editing, because these tools definitely aren't going away anytime soon. And while it's nice to have the option to brush out distracting background elements in some photos, not every photo needs to be polished and ready for a Christmas card. Just like you wouldn't write a letter to a friend like you would a college application, sometimes a little rawness is just right.
