Memes can be fun. But when a big corporation decides to get in on the action, the fun usually dies.
As spotted by Android Authority , Google is currently working on a new feature for Google Photos called “Me Meme,” though Android Authority thinks it could be called “Meme Me” upon release. The feature is simple: Through the power of AI (sigh), you can turn pictures of yourself or a family member into “your favorite memes.” Cool.
Here’s how it’s supposed to work: You choose a “meme template,” along with a sample photo of yourself, a friend, or a family member. That photo reportedly needs to be backed up to Google Photos before you can use it here. And while not a requirement, the feature recommends you use a selfie with a clear view of your face. That makes sense: If the AI is going to insert your likeness into a meme, it needs an accurate view of what you look like. Otherwise, you’ll just end up generating a meme with some stranger’s face.
At the moment, the only meme Me Meme currently advertises producing is “This Is Fine ,” the meme taken from KC Green’s comic of a dog sitting in a burning room. Android Authority wasn’t able to get the feature working, but saw promotional images of the feature in action, which shows a sample selfie, and the end result. Importantly, the “Me Meme” menu option also features a graphic of a person dabbing. Again—and I cannot emphasize this enough—cool.
Even through Google’s “official” meme generation here, I’m not sure I’d be able to tell that the AI image is supposed to be based on the reference selfie. Unless the AI really captures the person’s likeness, Me Meme loses whatever appeal it might have otherwise had. Why would anyone want to send a custom AI version of a meme with some random person as its subject? Though, building off that point, one might ask why anyone would want to send an AI-generated meme of themself at all?
Maybe this will be Google’s Bitmoji moment. Maybe this feature will never actually come to pass. Either way, the AI era is certainly interesting, if not all that cool.
