The forthcoming launch of Apple Intelligence has prompted the iPhone manufacturer to reevaluate its stance on the nature of photography. In a conversation with The Wall Street Journal, Apple’s software chief, Craig Federighi, expressed the company's commitment to offering AI-enhanced image editing tools that maintain the authenticity of photos. “Our devices are widely used, ” stated Federighi. “It’s crucial for us to ensure we’re promoting accurate information rather than fantasy. ” The introduction of iOS 18. 1 includes a new “Clean Up” feature in the Photos app that can swiftly eliminate objects and individuals from pictures. Federighi and WSJ reporter Joanna Stern noted that this feature is much more restrained compared to editing tools from competitors like Google and Samsung, which can insert entirely AI-generated elements into images. Despite the limitations of Clean Up, Federighi mentioned there had been extensive internal discussions regarding its implementation. “Should we facilitate the removal of that water bottle or that microphone?After all, that water bottle was present when the photo was captured, ” he explained after demonstrating how Clean Up functions to remove items from an image's background.

“There has been considerable demand for users to tidy up what they perceive as extraneous details that don’t alter the essence of the photo, so we've opted to make this modest adjustment. ” Federighi shared that Apple is “worried” about the influence of AI on how “individuals perceive photographic content as reliable reflections of reality. ” This is a topic we've often explored here at The Verge. Tools like Google’s Reimagine feature enable users to effortlessly insert lions, explosives, and even drug-related items into pictures, using just a text prompt, which could further undermine trust in photography. The use of generative AI editing applications with malicious intent is making it increasingly easy to mislead individuals with increasingly believable fake images. Currently, Apple Intelligence does not permit users to incorporate AI-generated alterations into photos, unlike rival services. Any images edited with the new object removal feature will be tagged as “Modified with Clean Up” in the Photos app and come with metadata that indicates they have been altered. Apple is not the only company taking such measures; for instance, the Adobe-led Content Authenticity Initiative has introduced a similar “Content Credentials” metadata framework designed to help users differentiate between unaltered photographs and AI-generated fakes. This initiative depends on tech, camera, and media companies to voluntarily endorse it, but support is gradually growing. It remains uncertain whether Apple’s metadata system will integrate with Content Credentials.