Google is teaming up with the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) to create technology that looks to identify whether an image was taken with a camera, edited by programs like Photoshop or produced by generative AI models like Google's own Gemini model.
As part of the technology, Google Search results will get a new "about this image feature" that informs you how an image was created or edited.
Google outlined the coming tools in a blog post, and the company outlined the system that comes with C2PA. The Coalition is a group dedicated to addressing misinformation and AI-generated images. The group has created an authentication technical standard that includes information about the origination of the content to create a digital trail.
The standard has been backed by some major companies investing in the AI space, including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, OpenAI and Adobe. So far, the adoption of the standard hasn't taken off. However, Google incorporating the standard into search results will be the first big test for the standard.
Google says it collaborated on the newest version of the standard (2.1) and will combine it with an upcoming C2PA trust list. The trust list allows Google Search to confirm the origin of the images.
"For example, if the data shows an image was taken by a specific camera model, the trust list helps validate that this piece of information is accurate," explains Laurie Richardson, Google's VP of Trust & Safety.
The authentication credentials come from two specific Google products: Search and Ads.
"Our goal is to ramp this up over time and use C2PA signals to inform how we enforce key policies,” says Richardson. “We’re also exploring ways to relay C2PA information to viewers on YouTube when content is captured with a camera, and we’ll have more updates on that later in the year.”
Other AI companies have joined with the C2PA to add the credential from the jump. These include OpenAI, which joined the coalition in May of this year. Runway, which just signed a massive deal with Lionsgate, launched C2PA credentials in the third generation of its AI video generation.
"Establishing and signaling content provenance remains a complex challenge, with a range of considerations based on the product or service," says Richardson. "And while we know there’s no silver bullet solution for all content online, working with others in the industry is critical to create sustainable and interoperable solutions."
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