Monthly Archives: April 2026

Big news: I’m back at Google!

Idle Philosophizing

Hey gang—I am beyond delighted to say that I’m returning to Google, taking a Cloud AI PM role focusing on generative media!

As Paul Simon told us, “These are the days of miracles and wonder”—and I wonder at my amazingly good fortune getting to help shape these miracles.

Ever since 2000, I’ve focused my PM career on “unblocking the light,” helping people make the world more beautiful and fun. From Photoshop to Google Photos to M365, I’ve loved learning what truly matters to creators. Nothing beats zeroing in on real needs, then marshaling some big giant brains to deliver everything from big breakthroughs to crafty little mint-on-the-pillow delights.

Returning from last fall’s Adobe MAX, I summarized attendees’ vibe as “Overwhelmed, But Optimistic.” Now the pressure—and privilege—is to turn that optimism into action.

There’s so much I don’t yet know about this role—but what I know for sure is that I can’t do it alone.

I know I need you.

As we all navigate this bewitching, bewildering time, let’s stick together. Please keep me honest, grounded in knowing just what you need—and what you don’t. That way I can advocate accordingly, helping Google focus on exactly what’ll benefit you most.

Questions & ideas for collaboration are always most welcome: [last name @ employer dot com]. And in the meantime I’ll keep sharing my most interesting finds on the ol’ blog—especially in the burgeoning AI/ML category.

And with that, friends, here we go!

Photo history: How NASA trained moonwalkers to shoot

Photography

I love behind-the-scenes little insights like these. Click or tap as needed to see the full post:

Phota launches, promising maximum identity preservation

AI/ML, Photography

Phota—about which I expressed some initial misgivings, given its ability to rewrite memories—has launched Phota Studio & their API. From what I can tell, it builds upon a Nano Banana foundation and adds personalization that relies on uploading dozens of images of each individual in order to maximize identity preservation:

With Phota, for the first time, you can generate, edit, and enhance photos while keeping your identity intact, every time.

We’re not building a generic foundation model. We build personal models about you, and about the people and pets around you. At the center are profiles, built from your personal album that learn the details of your appearance that make you recognizable as yourself: how you smile, your eye color, and how your face looks from different angles. Your personal model is private and only used by you.

Here’s a quick thread in which I tried inserting myself into a couple of images, using both Phota’s model (which depended on my uploading 30+ images of myself) and just Nano Banana straight out of the Gemini app:

Inside the design of “Project Hail Mary”

Design

I love love love the attention to detail that Phil Lord and Christopher Miller brought to the film. Check out the lengths they & their crew went to on everything from devising rotating lights for the inter-ship tunnel (conveying constant rotation) to nailing film grain. And I love the exuberance & generosity of creators in sharing so many insights into design & process.

FreePik enables 3D photo shoots

3D, AI/ML

I love seeing progress like this: upload a product pic, convert it to 3D, and photograph it on a virtual set: