Due to the fact that smartphones are so compact, the camera sensors used are naturally not as big compared to dedicated cameras like mirrorless cameras or DSLRs. As a result, smartphone makers have to turn to software magic to interpret that data and turn it into something amazing. More recently, we’re seeing an increase in AI in photography, and according to OPPO , that could be the future.
OPPO thinks AI is the future of smartphone photography
Speaking in an interview with India Today Tech , Simon Liu, the Global Imaging Director at OPPO spoke about a number of things. One of those involved AI and how OPPO views it as the future of photography . According to Liu, we should look at AI as a neutral thing. He compares it to a gun and a knife, both of which are tools. However, what we do with those tools determines the good or bad intentions behind it.
A person using a knife to chop up vegetables for dinner? Good. A person wielding a gun to rob a store? That’s bad. “Yes, as long as intentions are good, basically, I don’t think there are any limits for AI. Again, if the intentions are bad, even a little bit of AI could cause a very big problem.”
Liu also made a somewhat controversial statement in which he says that most of time, we do not want to see “reality” in our photos. “The main gap here is understanding what the human mind actually wants. Because most of the time they do not want reality. They have a projection of how they should be in their mind. And it’s not really that simple, easy to dig it out.”
Is he right?
To a certain extent, we think what Liu says makes sense. What we perceive with our eyes and what’s captured on camera are very different. Ever see the moon in the sky so bright, big, and beautiful, only for it to look like a little bright dot after we snap the photo? We’re sure that has happened many times, and if AI can help us capture that moment accurately, why not?
However, we imagine that not everyone is necessarily thrilled about too much use of AI. This can result in photos looking unnatural. In fact, just last week, a viral thread on Reddit revealed that many Google Pixel owners feel that too much AI can ruin the experience . Perhaps given time, AI can be refined to the point where it can help us in less obvious, but still useful, ways.
In his conclusion, Liu admits as much. “Until now, I don’t think the hardware has actually really peaked. In terms of the camera context. And the same answer to the AI side. We have not reached the limit of the computing max as well. We are still far away from the peak at the moment.”
