Google has “launched” a second version of its AI image generator model but only to Google Cloud customers who use Vertex AI.
Imagen 2 is the search giant’s most advanced text-to-image technology but as ever Google is being cagey with it and not all Vertex AI customers have access to it (they must be specially approved first).
According to Google, it can render text in multiple languages while generating “high-quality, photorealistic, high-resolution, aesthetically pleasing images from natural language prompts.” There is also a logo generation feature, cue the tears of graphic designers.
On its DeepMind blog, it showed examples of Imagen generating realistic human hands and faces with the results looking scarily good.
Imagen 2 also offers features such as inpainting and outpainting: the ability to change elements inside an image and to extend the borders.
It appears Google is more interested in allowing businesses to build on its text-to-image technology than being consumer-facing themselves. It notes that Snap is using Imagen for its Snapchat+ offerings.
“With the new AI Camera Mode, they can tap a button, type in a prompt or choose a pre-selected one, and generate a scene to share with family and friends or post to their story,” writes Google.
Shutterstock is also a customer of Imagen, which it notes is an “ethically sourced AI image generator.” But as reported by Tech Crunch, Google has not disclosed the data it used to train the model nor has it said if creators can opt-out if their work is included in the data set.
For the first iteration of Imagen, Google disclosed it had used the LAION dataset which is known to have hundreds of millions of copyrighted photos and even private medical images.
Google’s likely keeping shtum because of the legal uncertainty surrounding AI image generators but they do offer an indemnification policy that protects Vertex AI customers from copyright claims.
To gain access to Imagen 2 on Vertex AI, users must reach out to their Google Cloud representative to join the Trusted Tester Program.