Google’s Project Ellmann Shows Your Life in Photos

In a recent internal summit, Google proposed its next big idea: an AI-powered feature titled ‘Project Ellmann’ that would provide users with a snapshot or, as they’re calling it, a “bird’s eye view” of their entire lives.

Here are a few things we know about it so far from a copy of a presentation that CNBC was able to get their hands on. Google’s new baby, Gemini, is powering it. It’ll use your Google Photos and past searches to analyze your life.

There will also be a chatbot, Ellmann Chat, that you can use to answer questions about you and your life. The project is named after the American literary critic Richard David Ellmann.

Ellmann will be able to present your life in chapters so you can choose to see, for instance, content from your school years or a specific vacation you took. I know this sounds exactly like what Apple Photos has been doing for years with its Memories feature. But apparently, Google’s version will be much more intelligent and detailed. After all, the presentation says that the analysis will be more than “just pixels with labels and metadata,” which might be a dig at Cupertino.

Google’s overall aim with this project isn’t to recap your high school years or organize your life by people, places, and events. It is to intelligently study and examine your life to understand you and your story better and get back to you with an overarching life narrative. One of their presentation slides states, “When we step back and understand your life in its entirety, your overarching story becomes clear.” If that sounds incredibly intrusive to the point of being uncomfortable, you’re not alone.

They marketed Ellmann Chat as a tool to ask questions about your life. In one of the sample questions presented, the user asked whether or not they have a pet. They received detailed responses, including precise information on their pet dog. Though it was touted as a feature that can “answer previously impossible questions,” the chat feature is a way to make Ellmann even smarter. Every time you interact with it, you’re either feeding more about your life or confirming (or refuting) what it already knows about you.

In a statement that a Google spokesperson gave to Gizmodo, they said: “This was an early internal exploration and, as always, should we decide to roll out new features, we would take the time needed to ensure they were helpful to people, and designed to protect users’ privacy and safety as our top priority.” So, we will try to be optimistic that the project won’t be as meddling as it sounds.