Ahead of next week’s Adobe Max event, Adobe is set to announce a pretty powerful editing tool. Of course, it’s AI-powered, and it lets you edit every piece of your image as if it were a separate layer. Just select the bit of your image, and start moving it around, changing its color and appearance, or remove it completely. Adobe has released a sneak-peek video, and I must admit, the tool looks pretty impressive.
The new tool is known as Project Stardust, and it’s an “object-aware editing engine”. It automatically identifies objects in photos, making it easier for users to move or modify them. The Verge compares it to Google’s Magic Editor, recently announced for Pixel phones. However, Project Stardust is presumed to be more powerful.
Project Stardust demo
As I mentioned, Adobe has published a video demonstrating the new AI tool. It reveals that the software can identify and select objects (e.g., a yellow suitcase in a given example) as if you’d manually selected them with tools like Lasso. After the selection, you can manipulate these objects as if they were on a separate layer.
An additional feature similar to Photoshop’s “Contextual Task Bar” can even predict your next steps in the design process. In the demo, this tool detects a blurred crowd and offers a “remove distractors” button for quick removal.
Like Adobe’s Generative Fill, this tool benefits from Adobe Firefly tools. For example, you can fill selected areas with AI-generated images. Select the area you want to change, add a textual prompt, and add elements based on the textual description.
Implications
AI is taking over the creative industry rapidly, and there will be numerous implications for tools like Project Stardust. On the plus side, it will make editing more intuitive and easier. This will make it more accessible and less overwhelming to novice photographers and the general audience. Also, routine, boring, and time-consuming tasks could be performed way more quickly. This will allow photographers and designers to focus on more complex and creative aspects of their projects.
On the minus side, there are some ethical concerns. Easier and more available image manipulation could lead to an increase in misleading or fake visual content. Just think of the impact on news reporting, advertising, and social media. After all, this has already begun. Then, graphic design and photo editing industry will need to undergo a huge shift, as the tools are changing so rapidly and drastically. And while AI tools can aid creatives, there’s a potential that certain basic editing jobs or tasks might become obsolete.
Availability
Project Stardust will be unveiled at the Adobe Max event, along with more details about Adobe’s AI advancements. The event is just around the corner, starting on October 10. And as for availability within Photoshop, this still hasn’t been revealed, but perhaps we’ll know more after Adobe Max.
[via 9to5 Mac]
FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!