Panos Panay is leaving Microsoft to work at Amazon, but that hasn't stopped the tech giant from bringing a major update to Windows 11. Windows has another exciting year, and one of its most popular apps, Paint, will see the big development of artificial intelligence. Microsoft is testing an image creator called "Cocreator" powered by DALL-E and Bing, which uses artificial intelligence systems from the Redmond giant and OpenAI to create realistic images and artwork based on text descriptions.
Details are not available yet, but a reference in the updated app indicates that Microsoft is using the latest DALL-E model. The "cocreator" feature in Paint creates high-resolution DALL-E images in familiar blocks. This is similar to the Image Creator update for Bing Chat, which is available to everyone using Microsoft's AI chatbot.
Microsoft's artificial intelligence image creator
The main difference between the image creation mode of Bing Chat and Paint is that the latter is more deeply integrated with features such as background removal. It's worth noting that the new Cocreator panel in Paint will be web-based, and while it may be slower than native technology, it will get the job done.
A quick look at the updated package for Paint can confirm that Microsoft is using OpenAI's safeguards. However, if you still find that the app generates objectionable images, you can choose to mark them as unsafe. You can also use the thumbs up or down buttons to provide feedback directly to the Redmond giants.
The codebase also shows that Microsoft has made "modifications" to OpenAI's DALL-E safeguards to "impose additional restrictions on the generation of insecure images." Harmful messages are automatically blocked, and if users continue to abuse the feature, Microsoft may issue a warning via the network message in Paint.
Paint's AI integration is being tested in an in-house build, and we expect it to be available to testers in the coming days or weeks. The company is likely to have more discussion at the Surface event about DALL-E and other features in Paint.
The AI upgrade of Paint software is more than just DALL-E integration
Paint is similar to Photoshop
While DALL-E integration has yet to be announced, Microsoft Paint recently updated with new Photoshop-like support for background removal, layers, and transparency.
Layers in the Paint app are similar to Layers in Photoshop; You can add, manage, and stack layers for detailed artistic results. The Layer button is located in the toolbar, and there is a panel dedicated to layer management.
Another new feature is AI-driven background removal, which removes the background of any image to facilitate the creation of PNGs. In addition, you can now open or create transparent PNGs to view pictures without default white or dark fills.
In addition to the new Paint and Photos apps, Microsoft is believed to be working on more major changes to the operating system, details of which could be announced at Surface on September 21.
At the event, the Windows giant plans to announce the next major update to Windows 11, Surface Go 4, Surface Laptop Go 3, Surface Laptop Studio 2, and many AI integrations.