Video processing so far Does something you don't want to see disappear automatically? August 28, 19:28

Adjust the skin color of the photo or make your body look thin. Video and image processing that is becoming commonplace on SNS such as Instagram and Twitter. The long-established editing software is Adobe, a major IT company founded in 1982. Interview with CEO, Chantanu Narayan, who has been leading Adobe for over 10 years (Daisuke Nogami, reporter of the economy)

Can I erase unnecessary things?

This is a video of a man riding a bicycle from above. On the left is a red car running side by side. In the video below, the red car has been erased and the sand road has spread as if there was nothing.

This is a video created using the editing software provided by Adobe. If you specify the range of the part you want to erase when creating the video, even if the target is moving, it will be tracked and erased, and the erased part will be restored so that there is no sense of incongruity.

This is all AI = artificial intelligence “work” and can be used as a function in the editing software. So far, editing of images and videos has been strong by professional creators, but the time has come when anyone with no editing experience can do it.

CEO from India

Adobe, a well-known US company for document files such as “PDF” and image editing “Photoshop”.

In July, CEO Chantanu Narayan came to Japan to attend a corporate event held by Adobe in Tokyo. Narayan, an engineer from India who has a master's degree in computer science.

There are many executives from India in the US Silicon Valley IT industry, such as Google's CEO Thunder Pichai and Microsoft's Satya Nadera CEO, but Narayan has been leading Adobe since 2007.

Age when individuals tell stories

Although it is the largest in the field of editing software, there is a strong image for professionals, and competitions in the world of editing tools are intensifying, such as apps that can be easily processed with smartphones appear one after another.

Therefore, the philosophy that has been emphasized recently is “Creativity for all” (= creativity for everyone). It aims to expand the use of the general public rather than the editing professional who was the main user of the service.

In the background, SNS such as Instagram and the penetration of YouTube, everyone may be the source of the video. The company's market for editing software will expand to $ 24.2 billion in 2020 (approximately ¥ 2,560 billion in Japanese yen) and $ 29.2 billion in 2021 (approximately ¥ 3,088.0 billion in Japanese yen) Expect to do.

Mr. Narayan thinks it is important to lead this “popularization of editing”. For example, even one student or one of the world's leading companies says that their desire to convey information in their own way through images and videos remains the same.

“(Narayan CEO) It ’s time for each person to tell their story. It ’s a golden age for Adobe to help create content. Not just professionals, but everyone who wants to tell the story. We must be able to provide a platform. ''

In particular, Japan has one of the most important markets for Adobe. There are many users especially in the field of processing software.

One of those users, company director Naohiro Yamukai (35), has been editing photos taken with a single-lens reflex camera using Adobe software for three years and sending them on Instagram and Twitter.

Edit in about 15 minutes per photo, such as adjusting the brightness of a picture or adding color, and post to SNS. Realizing easy personal communication.

"I can't think of sending without editing tools"

Edit to AI

Adobe not only expands the market, but also develops the latest technology and uses it for editing software functions.

One pillar is AI. The editing software has a newly developed AI. For example, it automatically adjusts the skin color so that it looks bright and beautiful, or automatically corrects the image with a single click based on tens of thousands of image data processed by professionals.

In April, however, a new feature is a function that erases what you don't want to show in the video. For example, when it is desired to cut out the images of two people beautifully at a wedding or its “pre-shoot”, it becomes possible to erase the reflected people.

Until now, steady editing work has been done by human hands, but using AI, the production time is shortened and a future that can be processed automatically is drawn.

“(Narayan CEO) AI will change the creative world. Now that we have a lot of computing power, we can express ideas and various features drawn in the head more quickly. I think. "

The risk of fake

What is worrisome with these advances in processing technology is the overflow of fake images and videos. In the world that anyone can process, there are risks associated with video and images. How does Adobe think about this issue?

“(Narayan CEO) I believe that Adobe itself has to be responsible for dealing with fake countermeasures. I think that once content is produced, it must be proved that it is authentic. I want to take leadership by making it possible to identify who the creator is and investing in tamper-proof technology. ''

Adobe is researching technology to see if images and videos have been modified. Researching techniques to restore processed images to the original, and urgently responding.

By using a method of searching for traces that cannot be judged by the human eye using the power of AI, it is expected to be put to practical use as soon as possible in the industry.

The world of editing software is changing rapidly, such as apps that can be processed from the moment you take a photo. In particular, many young people are accustomed to editing what they have taken with their own hands.

As the times of editing work at hand come, the amount of video and images that will be transmitted will increase. It is likely that we will be able to build a future filled with pleasant content, or that the ingenuity of each sender will be questioned.

Daisuke Nogami, economic reporter

He joined the Kanazawa Bureau in 2010 and is currently in charge of the financial industry in the Ministry of Economic Affairs.