In today’s world of socially shared images, the urge to post a “perfect” photo, free of distractions and blemishes, is nothing new — the practice of manipulating photographs can be traced back to the 19th century. But instead of using laborious darkroom techniques and other manual methods, artificial intelligence and machine learning built into sophisticated smartphone apps now makes it easy for anyone to significantly alter a digital picture. Vanity-driven repairs are popular, but A.I.-powered editing can even fix fuzzy focus or entirely remove that inebriated fellow photobombing your family beach portrait with just a few screen taps. How It WorksIn a nutshell, apps that incorporate A.I. tools typically analyze an image and make adjustments based on what an aesthetically pleasing photograph is supposed to look like — sometimes even as you capture the picture and the camera software is processing the file.

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