Apple is taking a proactive stance on AI-generated imagery with its upcoming Image Playground app in iOS 18. In a recent interview at WWDC 2024, Apple’s VP of software engineering, Craig Federighi, revealed that the new feature will include built-in safeguards to clearly identify AI-created images.
According to Federighi, iOS 18 will “mark up metadata” on image files, explicitly stating whether they were created using AI. This move demonstrates Apple’s commitment to transparency in the era of increasingly sophisticated AI image generation.
While the current iOS 18 developer beta doesn’t include the AI features, code analysis by 9to5Mac uncovered references to image “forensics” capabilities, likely designed to identify AI-generated content. This aligns with Apple’s stated goal of encouraging responsible AI use and preventing the misrepresentation of artificial images as authentic ones.
Image Playground itself is designed to be integrated across various iOS apps, such as Messages and Notes, allowing users to create custom AI-generated images on the fly. To further distinguish its output from real photos, Image Playground will generate images in a cartoon or illustration style.
Apple has emphasized that its AI models are trained on “licensed data” and “publicly available data” from the web, though websites had the option to opt out of this data collection process. It’s worth noting that due to the processing power required, Image Playground will initially only be available on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, as well as Apple Silicon Macs.
This approach to AI image generation reflects a growing awareness in the tech industry of the potential for misuse of such tools. By building in clear identifiers for AI-generated content, Apple is taking a step towards maintaining trust and authenticity in digital imagery, even as AI capabilities continue to advance.
