{"id":517661,"date":"2026-06-25T12:01:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T12:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/517661\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T12:01:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T12:01:11","slug":"you-can-add-sonys-new-ai-photo-assistant-to-the-long-list-of-ai-features-nobody-wanted-being-rammed-down-our-throats-by-tech-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/517661\/","title":{"rendered":"You can add Sony\u2019s new AI photo assistant to the long list of AI features nobody wanted, being rammed down our throats by tech companies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Until now, Sony<\/a> had a solid track record of implementing artificial intelligence (AI) into its cameras. Starting with Real-Time Eye Autofocus (AF) in the Sony A7R II<\/a>, it laid the groundwork for modern AI subject recognition in its latest cameras such as the A7R VI<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, the latest AI photo assistant feature that has been rolled out in the new Sony Xperia 1 VIII camera phone<\/a> feels like another spoonful of unnecessary AI cough medicine being force-fed to us, just like every other tech company on Earth seems to be doing since the AI gold rush began a few years ago.<\/p>\n

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Essentially, the new Xperia 1 VIII AI assistant suggests four different shooting settings at moment you capture the shot, each offering a distinct creative aesthetic based on the scene or subject.<\/p>\n

According to Sony<\/a>, the assistant helps you \u201cdiscover new ways of shooting\u201d all while \u201cexpanding the joy of creating\u201d. Jesus, I\u2019m cringing.<\/p>\n

Xperia 1 VIII | Official Product Video – YouTube
\n\"Xperia<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

ABOVE: the new Sony Xperia 1 VIII and its AI assistant explained<\/p>\n

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As you can expect, this hasn\u2019t resonated well with photographers, who’ve made it clear in forum chatter<\/a> and publications<\/a> that this AI assistant is nothing but a waste of battery life dressed up as a creative outlet.<\/p>\n

And I couldn\u2019t agree more. What a load of baloney about it helping you to \u201cdiscover new ways of shooting\u201d. The AI assistant essentially adds post-production edits only during production, which hardly broadens your compositional horizons.<\/p>\n

The best camera deals, reviews, product advice, and unmissable photography news, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

Having the AI analyze the scene before you press the shutter and suggest compositional changes would be impressive. I’d prefer to come to the conclusion myself without the help of AI but, admittedly, a feature like this could help you explore new angles.<\/p>\n

But the Xperia 1 VIII AI assistant is far from this and, at best, its achievement has been compressing production and post-production into a single click of the shutter.<\/p>\n

Was this necessary? Perhaps, if you\u2019re in the game of saving time when taking photos. But for anyone who actually enjoys the traditional photographic process, it brings nothing to the table.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

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\"Sony
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The new Sony Xperia 1 viii began shipping June 19 this year (Image credit: Sony)<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to think that Sony\u2019s new AI assistant could help photographers develop their editorial eye by explaining what edits it actually made when coming up with its suggestions. However, as it simply creates these at the click of a button, you don\u2019t even get the educational benefit.<\/p>\n

To me, it\u2019s simply creative outsourcing to a machine and the complete opposite of \u201cexpanding your range of expression\u201d (another quote that came directly from the mouth of Sony).<\/p>\n

As a longtime Sony shooter, I\u2019m disappointed by this new AI assistant and can feel my gag reflex kicking in as I regurgitate the thought of this unnecessary feature.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m really hoping Sony doesn\u2019t have the bright idea of bringing it to Alpha cameras, as I\u2019m currently looking to upgrade from the A7 III<\/a> to a newer model \u2013 and I have a slight suspicion that a future firmware update could see my next camera infected by this trash.<\/p>\n

You might also like\u2026<\/p>\n

Unlike the Xperia 1 VIII smartphone, I am a big fan of the company’s cameras \u2013 and we have an expertly-curated list of the best Sony cameras<\/a> here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Until now, Sony had a solid track record of implementing artificial intelligence (AI) into its cameras. Starting with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":517662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[61,60,202,80],"class_list":["post-517661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mobile","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}