Meta pulls new AI image feature after days of backlash
Meta has suddenly removed a new feature that allowed people to use an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to create fake images from user content on Instagram.
The feature was part of a wide-ranging rollout of Muse Image, a new AI image creation tool from Instagram’s parent company. It was published on Tuesday.
Meta AI allowed users of the chatbot To tag public accounts on Instagram and quickly use content from those accounts to create AI-generated or modified content and images.
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Feature quickly triggered recoil privacy concerns led Meta to admit it “missed the mark”, so “no longer available”.
Muse Image was the tech firm’s first attempt at creating AI images, but it faced backlash as Instagram users chose that option by default.
This meant that anyone with a public account could have their image used without their knowledge or permission.
Hollywood union Sag-Aftra called the U-turn a “win”. It had previously called on its members and “all Instagram users” to take action to preserve their likeness, stating there was a “total miscalculation in public sentiment about the obvious dangers and harms inherent in such use”.
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London-based human rights charity Privacy International also criticized the feature, telling the BBC it was “the latest sign that AI companies view people’s images and data as raw material to be exploited.”
“Our goal was to provide a useful creative tool and give people control over whether their public content can be referenced in this way,” Meta said in its decision to pull the feature. he added. “We heard the feedback.”
When Meta announced Muse ImageThe company said this is limited to Instagram, but more AI features and integrations are planned for WhatsApp, Facebook and Messenger.
There is also an AI video tool in development.
Meta declined to comment further.
