--- title: "Google’s AI Now Lets You Wildly Alter Photos Right in Your Camera App" description: "Google's latest AI photo editing tool called \"Reimagine\" is part of the tech giant's latest efforts to enhance photos with the power of AI." date: "2024-08-23" modified: "2024-08-23" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/google-ai-alter-photos-camera-app" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Google" tags: - "ai image generators" - "generative ai" - "Google" - "the digest" --- # Google’s AI Now Lets You Wildly Alter Photos Right in Your Camera App ![Google's latest AI photo editing tool called "Reimagine" is part of the tech giant's latest efforts to enhance photos with the power of AI.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Camera Fakery Google's latest AI photo editing tool, called "[Reimagine]()," lets you add or remove objects in a photo using a text prompt — with "uncanny" results, as [*The Verge* reports](). The feature, introduced alongside Google's launch of its Pixel 9 smartphone earlier this month, could easily unintentionally undermine the authenticity of photos by allowing anybody to tinker with them right inside the camera app. Examples [shared]() by *The Verge*'s Chris Welch included a photorealistic image of the [aftermath of a bike and car collision](), a [lion prowling]() behind a locked gate, and a "[mystery liquid gushing out of a Metro-North train]()." ## Corpses and Drugs Throughout its testing, [*The Verge* encountered very few guardrails]() for the new feature, easily adding "car wrecks, smoking bombs in public places, sheets that appear to cover bloody corpses, and drug paraphernalia to images." Meanwhile, a Google spokesperson pointed the publication to its Terms of Service in a statement — which outlined exactly the kind of images *The Verge* was generating as being forbidden — arguing that the company remains "committed to continually enhancing and refining the safeguards we have in place." In a separate test, *The Verge* uploaded an edited image to an Instagram story to see if Meta would apply a tag to notify other users that it was fake, but the system failed to do so. That shouldn't come as much of a surprise, considering Meta's "Made with AI" label initiative has turned out to be a dud, and was [even caught mistakenly labeling real photos]() as being AI-generated. In short, while tampering with photographs using generative AI has been around for quite some time now, Google's latest photo editing tool doubles down by making the tech incredibly accessible — setting a dangerous precedent for a future filled with faked images. But considering former president Donald Trump [has already resorted to weaponizing the tech]() to take potshots at his rival Kamala Harris, we're already there. **More on generative AI:** *[Donald Trump Says He Doesn't Know Anything About AI-Generated Taylor Swift Images He Posted]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()