Forget photo manipulation and art – the real potential of generative AI helps us with things we don’t know and can’t see

You couldn’t swing a virtual cat without hitting an MWC 2024 exhibitor talking about generative AI; from Samsung and Google touting AI-powered photo editing and search, to Qualcomm wanting to put AI in cars and Humane wanting to make AI portable.

Sure, a lot of the technology on display was cool, but I don’t think the real game-changing potential of generative AI is in the obvious stuff. An experienced photographer and editor will almost certainly want to make their own edits – or simply take a photo – rather than relying on AI manipulation. And writers like me would rather type out an article than try to understand something written by ChatGPT.