Samsung’s camera software came under scrutiny recently after the Galaxy S23 Ultra fueled a heated debate concerning zoomed-in photos of the moon and whether or not they’re fake. Engineers believe that Samsung’s moon photos are real, but even then, the meaning of the term “real” can be debated. Now Samsung’s mobile photography is back in the headlines, again for the wrong reasons, as someone discovered that using the Gallery app’s “Remaster picture” feature can have rather unsettling results.
Twitter user @earcity shared a side-by-side comparison of a remastered and non-remastered photo of their seven-month-old daughter. And although the Remaster feature in Gallery has overall positive results (it can even erase snot), the AI also gets confused and seems to go too far with its clever editing, replacing the baby’s tongue with teeth. The end result is not only unrealistic but quite unsettling.
This is how gross Remastering is on the @SamsungMobile @Samsung #S23Ultra #SamsungS23Ultra. AI casually adding teeth to a 7 month old baby. NO ONE ASKED FOR THIS! pic.twitter.com/X9WUHWS2Hr
— Apricot Lennon 🐱🥙 (@earcity) March 22, 2023
The Verge tried replicating this issue using a different photo of a baby, and sure enough, they reached a similar conclusion. Perhaps their example is not as extreme, but still exhibits the same odd behavior wherein the AI decides to cover the subject’s tongue with fake teeth, even when said subject is a baby young enough to be toothless.
Fortunately, the Remaster option is just that. An option. Meaning it’s not enabled automatically. Users have to look for it deliberately in the “More” menu when viewing a photo inside the Gallery app, and if they choose to select the option, they then have to wait a few seconds for the AI to remaster the photo. Once the AI processes the photo, users get a “Before / After” slider and can decide whether they prefer the original or save the new version to their Gallery.
Still, it’s no good excuse for the AI to be photoshopping teeth onto a picture of a seven-month-old baby, so Samsung may want to look into its Gallery AI and figure out how to prevent these disturbing images from scaring parents away from the otherwise useful “Remaster photo” feature.
