Some days, you just wish you could make big tech CEOs disappear at the snap of a finger. Well, apparently, now you can, as long as it’s in a photo or video.
Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg recently showcased how powerful their AI software Emu is getting in a new video that he shared on Facebook. The video generator was previously called “Make-a-video” but is now known as Emu Video and Emu Edit. They may soon be giving Adobe’s Generative Fill a run for their money.
Emu Video has evolved to use a two-step generative process. First, it generates moving images based on a text input. Then, it uses what it’s already created to make even more videos based on the first step. Emu Video can create 512×512 four-second long videos at 16 frames per second, according to a blog post by Meta.
Emu Edit is what could grow to rival Photoshop eventually. As demo’d by Zuckerberg, you don’t need to select an object to replace it. You simply tell the AI what to remove.
Pixels left untouched
Emu Edit can carry out “tasks such as local and global editing, removing and adding a background, color and geometry transformations, detection and segmentation, and more,” says Meta. Meta explains that only the pixels you want replaced are affected in their model. This leaves the rest of the images intact.
Interesting, and there is certainly potential here. However, a quick look at the examples given shows some pretty inferior image quality for the generated or manipulated images. This level would not pass the test of any photographer worth their pixels.
Research based
Meta admits that this is all just research-based and experimental at the moment. They haven’t given a rollout date or any information about when these Emu Video and Edit features might become available to the general masses.
Meta finishes up with a curious message: “While certainly no replacement for professional artists and animators…Imagine…editing your own photos and images, no technical skills required.”
I’m sure all professional photographers, filmmakers and retouchers are looking forward to that particular utopian world. Maybe now Zuckerberg will disappear permanently after those comments!
[via Petapixel]
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