As a 90s kid, hearing "Microsoft Paint" brings up memories of sitting at my friend's parent's clunky computer, drawing rudimentary doodles with the spray can tool over pictures of puppies. Now, decades later, Microsoft Paint is barely recognizable. The newest updates to the photo and graphics editor introduce generative AI features, showing that the application can still be relevant.

Microsoft Paint Gets Generative AI Tools

When I think of AI-fueled generative fill and erase features, apps that come to mind are Adobe Photoshop and Google's Magic Eraser tool for both Pixel and iOS devices. I wouldn't think of Microsoft Paint. However, Microsoft announced an expansion to a feature added to the application earlier this year, a tool called Cocreator with which users can generate AI images using text prompts.

Now, if you own a new-fashioned Copilot laptop (or PC), not only can you create new images with AI, but you can edit existing images too.

Generative Fill

Similar to the AI tool in Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Paint's Generative Fill feature gives you the ability to add new elements to an existing image, per a description that you provide to the application. Here is how Microsoft's support page qualifies the tool:

"Generative fill in Paint allows you to easily make edits and additions with just a few words, while maintaining the existing art style without using complex software.​ After selecting part of your image with the selection tool, enter a prompt to add or modify the image with AI-generated elements. The generative ill [sic] feature in Paint will be available for Copilot PCs and will initially only be available to Copilot PCs with Qualcomm processors."

Generative Erase

Microsoft Paint has also added Generative Erase, an AI tool in the form of a brush that you can "paint" over an object you wish to remove, such as a person passing in the background of a portrait. Unlike older versions of eraser tools, this action will not result in a blank space, but will instead use AI to produce a continuous background in place of the removed object.

According to Microsoft's support page, the way to access the tool is to simply select Erase, and Microsoft Paint will summon the AI tool by default.

Per Microsoft, you can also create masks to protect certain parts of your image from being affected by the generative erasing tool.

Microsoft Photos Also Gets an Update

Not one to let Paint get all the attention, Microsoft Photos also got a new upgrade. Going forward, Microsoft Photos users will be able to upscale images using a Super Resolution tool. Reportedly, Super Resolution can enhance an image to eight-times its original resolution, which is a pretty grand promise, considering that Adobe Lightroom only offers up to four-times enhancement.

Here's the thing: enhancement tools don't necessarily pull "hidden" data that's there in the photo. Rather, they're generating pixels based off of guesswork, similar to Generative Fill. I can see how this is valuable for simple sharpening, but I can also imagine it leading to some murky territory. Consider a situation like enhancing blurry CCTV footage in a criminal case. These AI-powered enhancement tools are not actually revealing the reality of a scene or identity, they are only creating a new image based on informed hallucinations.

Photo enhancement worries aside, I have no qualms with the Microsoft Paint upgrades. I'm personally excited to see what images people come up with, and how they compare to those from renowned applications like Adobe Photoshop. That said, access to these features is limited to Copliot PC owners, making them a bit, well, gate-kept by Microsoft.