Meta has unveiled its new AI image generator, Muse Image, which was produced by Meta Superintelligence Labs, the company’s dedicated AI unit. The new feature, which was internally code-named Mango, will be available for free through the Meta AI app, as well as in Instagram Stories and WhatsApp.
Unfortunately, the new model is already causing controversy.
What exactly can you do with Muse? It sounds like the use-cases are similar to most other AI image generators — you’ll be able to create a whole lot of goofy and cartoonish images, for instance.
If you’re suffering from a dearth of imagination and can’t come up with any original prompts on your own, Meta says that Muse comes with “presets” — prefabricated image prompts — to “spark ideas.”
However, a unique — and, as previously stated, somewhat eyebrow-raising — feature allows users to take an Instagram user’s images and manipulate them with AI, if that user’s profile is public. Users merely tag the person, and it allows them to take their picture and use it to create a new AI image. Wired originally pointed out the invasiveness of this.
Meta says that “people may be able to create content with your Instagram content using AI features at Meta” and that “You will not be notified about content created using AI features at Meta,” Wired notes.
Meta claims that users “have control” over this feature and that there are settings you can use to disable this kind of co-option of your pictures if you want to.
Muse has other, less invasive applications. One is to use Muse to create custom ads (AI has notably crept into advertising over the past year) or to play around with interior decoration ideas (in the video, a user leverages Muse to see what a used couch might look like in their garage). This last function is designed to be integrated with Facebook Marketplace, Meta’s popular Craigslist-like locus of used furniture and accessories.
The model also features prompt-based image editing, which can be used to create images to share across Meta’s various apps and platforms.
“Ask it to mock up an image of you in front of a historical landmark, cleanly erase a photobomber from the background of a shot, or write a custom prompt to build a functional QR code,” the company offers.
At the same time, Meta is launching a host of new AI effects for Instagram Stories which are supported by Muse. Those effects include various customizable filters that can be used to modify existing photos.
Meta says that the use of the new AI model is free for “everyday creation” although, past a certain limit, users will need to use Meta’s subscription plans.
The company also said that Muse Video — presumably an AI video generator — is “already in development.” TechCrunch reached out to Meta for more information.
Meta has released a number of AI apps and services over the past year, including an assistant called Creator, and Pocket, an app that can be used to vibe code video games. The company has been accused of having a nebulous AI strategy, although it’s still on track to spend a whole lot on AI infrastructure this year as it continues to build out its services.
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