A newly launched website by Vishnu Mohandas, a former Google employee, showcases what Google AI can learn from user-uploaded photos. This platform, developed as both a service and marketing move, is designed to demonstrate the capabilities of Google’s AI, according to Wired. Think of it like a magnifying glass over your photos, allowing you to see the details and information that Google’s powerful AI is able to extract.
The process is simple: users upload a photo, which is analyzed by Google Cloud’s computer vision program to produce a detailed, three-paragraph description of the image. Mohandas explains that the goal is to highlight the extent to which Google’s AI models interpret visual data from photos. It’s akin to taking a picture and having an expert, trained in many fields, analyze it and tell you everything they can deduce from what’s visible in that snapshot.
The Journey to Creating a Privacy-Focused Alternative
Mohandas left Google in 2020 after learning about its alleged role in using AI to analyze military drone footage. Following his departure, he also ceased using Google Photos, concerned that his images might be utilized to train AI models. He later founded Ente, a privacy-focused alternative to Google Photos. Unlike its competitor, Ente offers open-source, end-to-end encryption for photo storage and sharing, which has attracted over 100,000 users. Think of it like choosing a private vault over a more convenient, but public, storage locker.
Despite these advantages, Mohandas found it difficult to convey to users why they should abandon the convenience of Google Photos. This changed when an intern at Ente suggested creating a tool to show exactly what Google AI can extract from photos. This idea led to the creation of They See Your Photos (Theyseeyourphotos.com).
In this experiment, the website is using Google Vision API to extract the story behind a single photo.
The website lets users upload their own photos or experiment with pre-selected stock images. When Mohandas tested the site by uploading a family selfie taken at a temple in Indonesia, Google’s analysis was startlingly precise, even identifying the Casio F-91W watch his wife was wearing. It was like the AI had a photographic memory, picking out even the smallest details.
While Mohandas hopes the site will encourage users to transition to Ente, he acknowledges the difficulties involved. Transferring images from Google Photos is complicated by file fragmentation and compression. Additionally, Mohandas claims that Google Play has flagged Ente’s app for alleged pricing issues, which he disputes.
A Google spokesperson declined to comment on Ente’s project but referred Wired to its support pages, which state that Google Photos uses AI to enhance user experience by analyzing elements like age and location. While Google maintains that it doesn’t sell user content or use it for ads, users cannot completely opt out of its analysis since the platform doesn’t support end-to-end encryption.