It's bad enough that tech companies trained their AI models on Kali Hansacontent that doesn't belong to them. Now, however, it appears that at least one AI model is being used to remove watermarks from images so others can use content that doesn't belong to them, too.
Social media users have recently discovered that Google's new Gemini 2.0 Flash AI model can be used to remove watermarks from images.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
As reported by TechCrunch, this isn't completely new. Other AI image models have been able to remove watermarks. However, Gemini 2.0 Flash appears to be better than all other AI models at this particular task.
Gemini 2.0 Flash doesn't just remove the watermark. It fills in the gaps in the image that are left from removing the watermark.
Based on what users on platforms like Xand Reddithave shared, it appears that Gemini 2.0 Flash does have some trouble removing certain types of watermarks, such as semi-transparent watermarks. As TechCrunch notes, Google has only made the model available via its developer tools platform, and the company has currently labeled Gemini 2.0 Flash’s image generation feature as “experimental” and “not for production use."
However, for photographers and other artists, this is certainly a concerning use of the tool, at least until Google puts some guardrails on the AI image generation feature.
Photographers often depend on watermarks to identify their work as their own; when someone purchases the work, the watermark is removed for that person's use. But if any internet user can just run the image through an AI model to remove the watermark, artists will certainly experience problems getting paid. (Note, also, that in most cases removing a watermark without the permission of the creator is copyright infringement, and illegal under U.S. law.)
The future issues here likely won't be with Google's specific AI tool. The issue is that this is possible with an AI model to begin with. Even if Google adds guardrails to protect copyright holders from uses such as this, there will likely be other third-party AI tools that will replicate these features. In fact, as we previously mentioned, they already are. And soon, they'll probably be just as good as Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash model, too.
Topics Artificial Intelligence Google Google Gemini
The internet is talking like Kevin from 'The Office' now
People who say they got blinded by the sun sue Amazon over eclipse glasses
Pizza Hut employees use kayaks to deliver free pizza to Harvey victims
Why psychologists are trying to save DACA from the Trump administration
Best portable power station deal: Save 44% on the Jackery Explorer 100 v2
The ultimate guide to the White Walkers and what they want on 'Game of Thrones'
Pizza Hut employees use kayaks to deliver free pizza to Harvey victims
Don't believe that video of a student swearing at a professor for taking her fake ID
What's new to streaming this week? (March 7, 2025)
'Look What You Made Me Do' director defends Taylor Swift against music video backlash
The strangeness of Japan's decision to start openly hunting whales
Books, games, and glitter: Helping Harvey's smallest survivors be kids again
Facebook rolls out new shows to the entire U.S.
What Joel Osteen learned about social media from Hurricane Harvey
Today's Hurdle hints and answers for May 5, 2025
Books, games, and glitter: Helping Harvey's smallest survivors be kids again
Facebook rolls out new shows to the entire U.S.
'Game of Thrones' incest hook up: Everything to know
Best JBL deal: Save $10 on the Go 4 at Amazon
Sphero’s awesome R2
The best Black Friday deals to shop on ThanksgivingShop deals on unlocked phones on Black Friday 2024AMC Black Friday deal: Get AMC+ for up to 75% offBest Black Friday Kindle Paperwhite deal: Save $30 at AmazonBest Black Friday Fire Stick deal: Save $28 on Amazon Fire TV Stick 4KBest Black Friday Meta Quest 3S deal: $75 in free creditBest Black Friday gift card deal: Free $75 gift card with Xbox Series XShop the best Black Friday deals under $50 before they're goneTikTok owner ByteDance sues intern for $1.1 million in damages for ‘sabotaging’ AI projectBest Black Friday gift card deal: Free $75 gift card with Xbox Series XBest Black Friday iPad deal: Save $130 on the iPad (9th Gen)Best Black Friday deals: Save up to $1,900 at SamsungBest Black Friday Fire Stick deal: Save $28 on Amazon Fire TV Stick 4KBlack Friday Kindle book deals: Save 93% in on popular readsBest Black Friday deals at Best Buy: Sony earbuds gaming laptops, and moreSling TV Black Friday deal: Get 50% off and one month of AMC+Black Friday handheld gaming deals 2024: Steam Deck on saleTesla API pricing could destroy many third party appsTikTok owner ByteDance sues intern for $1.1 million in damages for ‘sabotaging’ AI projectBest Black Friday TV deal: Save over $400 on Hisense U8N 55 Interrupted, Again by Joanna Kavenna Hannah Arendt, Poet by Srikanth Reddy At the Five Hundred Ponies Sale by Alyse Burnside Sherlock’s Double: At William Gillette’s Castle by Nicolette Polek “We’re Never Alone” by Tobias Wolff "Perfection You Cannot Have": On Agnes Martin and Grief by Cody Delistraty Anthe: On Translating Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi At the Webster Apartments: One of Manhattan's Last All Old Friends by Devon Brody Dreaming Within the Text: Notebooks on Herman Melville by Christopher Bollas Death Is Very Close: A Champagne Reception for Philippe Petit by Patrick McGraw Cooking Peppermint Chiffon Pie with Flannery O’Connor by Valerie Stivers An Opera on Little Island by Helen Rouner RIP Billymark's by Sophie Haigney Inside Alice Munro’s Notebooks by Benjamin Hedin On Getting Dressed by Isabel Cristo Throwing Yourself Into the Dark: A Conversation with Anne Carson by Kate Dwyer Of Unicorns: On My Little Pony by Lucy Ives Book as Enemy by Adania Shibli The Dreams and Specters of Scholastique Mukasonga by Marta Figlerowicz