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user on social media have discovered a controversial use casing for Google ’s fresh Gemini AI manakin : take away watermarks from look-alike , admit from images published by Getty Images and other well - known stock media outfits .
Last week , Google expanded entree to itsGemini 2.0 Flashmodel ’s image generation feature , which lets the model natively generate and edit simulacrum depicted object . It ’s apowerfulcapability , by all accounts . But it also appears to have few guardrails . Gemini 2.0 Flash will uncomplainingly create imagesdepicting celebritiesandcopyrighted characters , and — as alluded to earlier — remove watermarks from survive photos .
New skill unlock : Gemini 2 Flash model is really awesome at remove watermarks in images!pic.twitter.com/6QIk0FlfCv
— Deedy ( @deedydas)March 15 , 2025
As several X andRedditusers noted , Gemini 2.0 Flash wo n’t just remove watermark , but will also assay to fill in any gap create by a watermark ’s cut . Other AI - powered tools do this , too , but Gemini 2.0 Flash seems to be exceptionally skilled at it — and barren to habituate .
Gemini 2.0 Flash , available in Google ’s AI studio apartment , is amazing at edit paradigm with simple textual matter command prompt .
It also can remove watermark from images ( and put its own subtle water line in or else 🤣 ) pic.twitter.com/ZnHTQJsT1Z
— Tanay Jaipuria ( @tanayj)March 16 , 2025
To be clear , Gemini 2.0 Flash ’s image generation feature is labeled as “ experimental ” and “ not for production utilisation ” at the moment , and is only uncommitted in Google ’s developer - facing tools likeAI Studio . The model also is n’t a perfect watermark remover . Gemini 2.0 Flash appear to struggle with sure semi - transparent watermark and watermarks that examine large portions of image .
Still , some copyright bearer will surely take issue with Gemini 2.0 Flash ’s lack of usage restrictions . Some mannequin , admit Anthropic’sClaude 3.7 Sonnetand OpenAI’sGPT-4o , explicitly refuse to murder watermark ; Claude calls remove a watermark from an effigy “ unethical and potentially illegal . ”
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get rid of a water line without the original possessor ’s consent is consider illegal under U.S. copyright jurisprudence ( according tolaw firms like this one)outside of rarefied exceptions .
Google did n’t immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside of normal business hours .
Updated 3/17 at 1:48 p.m. Pacific : A Google voice provided the following instruction :
“ Using Google ’s procreative AI tools to engage in copyright infringement is a trespass of our terms of table service . As with all experimental releases , we ’re monitoring closely and listening for developer feedback . ”
