‘There is no such thing as a real photo’: Samsung defends AI photo editing on the Galaxy S24
Like most technology conferences in recent months, Samsung’s latest Galaxy Unpacked event was dominated by conversations about AI. From translating two-way conversations to gesture-based search, the Samsung Galaxy S24 launched with several AI-powered tricks up its sleeve – but one specific feature is already raising eyebrows.
Generative Edit will debut on the Galaxy S24 and its siblings and will allow users to artificially erase, recompose, and remaster parts of an image in an effort to achieve photographic perfection. This is not a new concept, and any operations performed with this generative AI technology will result in a watermark and changes to the metadata. But the seamlessness with which the Galaxy S24 enables such operations has understandably concerned some Unpacked visitors.
However, Samsung believes the new Generative Edit feature is ethical, desirable, and even necessary in today’s misinformation-filled world. In a revealing interview with Ny Breaking, Samsung’s Head of Customer Experience, Patrick Chomet, defended the company’s position on AI and its implications.
“There was a really nice video last year by Marques Brownlee about the moon photo,” Chomet told us. “Everyone was like, ‘Is it fake? Isn’t it fake?’ There was a discussion about what a real statue is. And actually there is no such thing as a real photo. Once you have sensors to capture something, you reproduce (what you see) and it means nothing. There is no real picture. You can try to define a real photo by saying, “I took that photo,” but if you use AI to optimize the zoom, the autofocus, and the scene – is it real? Or are they all filters? There is no real image, period.”
“Yet questions around authenticity are very important,” Chomet continued, “and we (Samsung) do this by recognizing two consumer needs; two different customer intentions. Neither is new, but generative AI will accelerate either.
“One of the intentions is to capture the moment, to take a photo that is as accurate and complete as possible. To do that, we use a lot of AI filtering, adjustment and optimization to erase shadows, reflections and so on. But we are true to the user’s intent, which is to capture that moment.
“Then there is another intention, namely wanting to make something. When people go on Instagram, they add a lot of funky black and white stuff – they create a new reality. Their intention is not to recreate reality, it is to create something new. So (Generative Editing) is not a totally new idea. Generative AI tools will accelerate that intent exponentially in the coming years (…) so there is a strong need for customers to distinguish between the real and the new. That’s why our Generative Editing feature adds a watermark and edits the metadata. We are working with regulators to ensure people understand the difference.”
On AI regulations, Chomet said Samsung is “very aligned with European regulations on AI,” noting that governments are right to raise concerns early on about the potential implications of widespread AI use.
“The industry must be responsible and regulated,” Chomet added, noting that Samsung is actively working on that. “Our new technology is amazing and powerful, but like anything, it can be used in good and bad ways. So it is appropriate to think deeply about the bad ways.”
Only time will tell how Genative Edit will ultimately be used on Samsung’s new Galaxy phones. Perhaps this feature will simply help the average smartphone user (i.e. those unfamiliar with Photoshop) get the photos they really want, rather than facilitating mass photofakery. It remains to be seen whether generative AI technology as a whole will be a benefit or a hindrance to society as we know it.
For our own initial thoughts on Generative Edit and Samsung’s latest devices, check out our hands-on Samsung Galaxy S24 review, hands-on Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review, and hands-on Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review.