This week, Google unveiled its new Pixel phones with mind-blowing AI photo tricks. The hosts discuss how these tools allow users to alter photos dramatically, sparking a debate on authenticity in photography. They also explore Gemini Live, an advanced AI voice assistant, and ponder the fate of Google Assistant. Additionally, the conversation touches on the rise of teen shoppers at Sephora and the trends in skincare, all woven into a lively discourse on the intersection of technology and daily life.
At a splashy media event this week at its headquarters in Mountain View, California, Google announced four new Pixel phones. But the really important stuff unveiled at the Made By Google event wasn’t the hardware itself, but rather all of the generative AI tools packed into the devices.
Most notable are some AI-powered camera features that allow Pixel owners to easily add themselves to a group shot after they’ve taken the photo, or to alter any scene entirely by changing night to day and adding objects that were never really there. It’s an exploration of our limits—how convincingly technology can bring alternate realities to life, and how much of the computer-generated scenery we can tolerate.
This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED senior reviews editor Julian Chokkattu joins the show to talk about Google’s fancy new photo tricks. We also talk about Gemini Live, the latest iteration of the company’s AI-powered voice chatbot. Finally, we ask the unaskable: Is Google Assistant finally dead, or just banished to Google’s attic?
Uncanny Valley | WIRED