Meta on Tuesday announced Muse Image, a new AI image generator built by Meta Superintelligence Labs, the company’s dedicated AI unit. The feature, internally codenamed Mango, is currently available for free through the Meta AI app, as well as Instagram Stories and WhatsApp.
Unfortunately, the new model is already controversial.
What exactly can you do with Muse? The use case seems similar to most other AI image generators. For example, you can create lots of goofy, cartoon-like images.
For those who are short on inspiration and can’t come up with their own original prompts, Muse offers “presets,” or pre-made image prompts, to “spark ideas,” Meta says.
However, one particularly eyebrow-raising feature allows AI to manipulate images of another Instagram user, as long as the user’s profile is public. Users can simply tag a person to take a photo and use it to create a new AI image.
After The Verge first pointed out how this was a potential violation, one X user said, “Drawing real users into generated photos without their explicit consent is a privacy landmine waiting to explode.”
The Meta policy states, “Users may be able to use Meta’s AI features to create content on your Instagram content,” and “We will not notify you about content created using Meta’s AI features.”
Meta claims that users have “control” over this feature, noting that there is a setting that allows you to disable this kind of collaborative option for photos if you wish.
Muse also has other less invasive applications. One is the creation of custom ads (AI has made significant inroads into advertising over the past year). Another option is to experiment with home decor ideas. In a promotional video, a user leverages Muse to see what a used sofa would look like in their garage. This last feature is designed to integrate with Facebook Marketplace, Meta’s popular Craigslist-like place for used furniture and accessories.
The model also features prompt-based image editing, allowing users to create and share images across Meta’s apps and platforms.
“Ask them to mock up your image in front of a historic landmark, cleanly remove a photobomber from the background of your shot, or write a custom prompt to build a functional QR code,” the company suggests.
At the same time, Meta is launching a host of new AI effects for Instagram Stories powered by Muse. Notably, it is the same platform that is at the heart of the photo tagging issue described above. These effects include customizable filters that allow you to modify existing photos.
Mehta said using the new AI model will be free for “everyday creation,” but users will need a subscription plan after a certain limit.
The company also said that Muse Video (presumably an AI video generator) is “already in development.” TechCrunch has reached out to Meta for more information.
Over the past year, Meta has released a number of AI apps and services, including an AI assistant called Creator and Pocket, an app that can be used to code the mood of video games. The company has been accused of having a vague AI strategy, but it plans to spend heavily on AI infrastructure this year as it continues to build out its services.
Meta’s privacy record is one of the sources of user concern about Muse. In 2019, the company paid a then-record $5 billion fine from the FTC after regulators found that political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica improperly collected data from tens of millions of Facebook users without their knowledge to build voter-targeted profiles ahead of the 2016 U.S. election. Facebook has known about the data misuse for years, even before it became public.
Separately, the company shut down Facebook’s facial recognition system in 2021, which automatically recognized people in photos and videos, under pressure from lawsuits and regulations surrounding the collection of biometric data. Essentially, Muse’s photo tagging feature, which is opted out by default, fits a pattern that users and regulators have previously warned about: widespread use of people’s data unless they actively disable it.
If you buy through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not affect editorial independence.
