Meta pulls controversial Muse Image feature from Instagram
What's the story
Meta has removed a controversial artificial intelligence (AI) feature from Instagram, following widespread criticism. The tool, dubbed Muse Image, was launched earlier this week along with other AI tools. However, it faced immediate backlash over privacy and copyright issues. The company acknowledged that the feature "missed the mark" and is no longer available on its platform.
Feature details
It generated images by tagging public Instagram accounts
Muse Image was an AI image generator developed by Meta Superintelligence Labs, the company's dedicated AI unit. The tool allowed users to generate images by tagging public Instagram accounts they wanted to reference. However, it didn't notify users when their photos were used in this manner, leading to privacy concerns and widespread criticism from users and Hollywood agencies alike.
Company statement
We've heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark
In light of the criticism, Meta issued a statement saying, "Our intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public content could be referenced in this way." The company added, "We've heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark, so it's no longer available."
User impact
The feature sparked major privacy and copyright concerns
The launch of Muse Image also had an automatic opt-in effect on any Instagram user with a public account, leading to the use of many people's likenesses in AI images without their consent. This raised major privacy and copyright concerns among users and agencies alike. The feature was Meta's first foray into AI image generation but faced backlash due to its default opt-in policy for Instagram users.