Google is reportedly working on a tool for Google Photos to help identify AI-generated pictures as well as images enhanced using artificial intelligence. An APK teardown of the application by Android Authority reveals new "@id/credit" and "@id/digital_source_type" ID resources for pictures.
The @id/credit will reportedly display a picture's credit tag, thus highlighting AI-generated media. Meanwhile, the @id/digital_source_type could refer to the Digital Source Type field and highlight if an image has been digitally manipulated.
Google itself uses a "Made with Google AI" credit tag for images generated through Google Gemini, which is visible in the EXIF data of the picture. If you edit images using Google Photos' AI-powered Magic Editor tool, the image gets an "AI-Generated with Google" tag.
The teardown also found an "@id/ai_info" ID resource, which could be used to name the AI model that generated the image.
Notably, none of the changes are live in the app. New features spotted in APK teardowns are part of the development and are meant to be implemented in the future.
With the increasing fears of deepfakes and AI-generated media, these tags could provide users with transparency about the origin of images in their smartphone gallery. Since users will be able to check these details in Google Photos app, they will not need to perform elaborate scruitiny elsewhere.
The move comes amid rising concerns over digitally manipulated images and videos. Deepfakes have also been used to circulate false advertisements showcasing Bollywood celebrities and internet personalities sponsoring betting apps.
