Samsung’s ZFold 6 AI Turns Sketches into Photorealistic Images

Samsung’s new Fold 6 features a powerful “sketch to image” AI tool that can turn rough sketches into photorealistic images.

Key Features of Sketch to Image: The “sketch to image” tool on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 allows users to draw rough sketches on photos or blank note pages and uses generative AI to transform them into detailed images:

• Drawing on a blank note produces fun, cartoon-like results, such as goofy trucks or teddy bears with extra limbs, based on the user’s doodle and chosen style like “3D cartoon” or “illustration”.
• Sketching on an existing photo yields more troubling outcomes, as the AI-generated elements are seamlessly incorporated into the image, matching scale and surroundings to create convincing fakes that are hard to distinguish from genuine photos at a glance.

Blurring the Lines of Reality: The author’s experiments with the tool highlight its uncanny ability to create realistic images from crude sketches, blurring the lines between what’s real and what’s AI-generated:

• A simple sketch of a bee on a blurry flower in a photo resulted in an AI bee that matched the flower’s focus, looking entirely natural and requiring close scrutiny to identify as fake.
• Even when the generated content is outlandish, like a giant cat in an intersection or a pirate ship in a bay, the images themselves appear strikingly realistic, complete with appropriate shadows and textures.

Implications for Art and Perception: While the feature is optional and unlikely to single-handedly upend society, it raises questions about how AI is changing our understanding of artistic creation and the nature of digital media:

• The accessibility of such powerful AI tools on smartphones puts sophisticated image manipulation at users’ fingertips, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish genuine photos from AI-enhanced ones.
• For younger generations growing up with these capabilities, the very definition of art and photography may evolve, as realistic images can be generated with minimal effort and skill.

Broader Concerns and Unanswered Questions: As fun and innocuous as putting a top hat on a rabbit may be, the rise of tools like sketch to image highlights some troubling issues that society will need to grapple with:

• The spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories could be supercharged by the ability to easily create convincing fake images, especially in an already precarious time for democracy.
• It remains unclear how platforms and users will adapt to an era where seeing is no longer necessarily believing when it comes to digital content, and what guardrails or detection methods may be needed.
• The expanding capabilities and availability of generative AI are outpacing our shared understanding of what’s real and fake online, leading to a strange and disorienting landscape that’s as entertaining as it is unnerving.