Meta has announced Muse Image, a new AI image generator created by Meta Superintelligence Labs, the company’s AI specialist unit. The new feature, internally codenamed Mango, will be available for free in 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 a ton of goofy, cartoon-like images.
For those who lack imagination and can’t come up with original prompts on their own, Meta says Muse offers “presets,” or pre-made image prompts, to “spark ideas.”
However, a unique (and, as mentioned above, somewhat eyebrow-raising) feature allows users to take images of Instagram users and manipulate them with AI, provided 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. Wired initially pointed out how potentially invasive this is.
Meta states that “people may be able to create content with your Instagram content using Meta’s AI features,” and “you will not be notified about content created using Meta’s AI features,” Wired says.
Meta claims that users have “control” over this feature and that there is a setting to disable this type of photo collaboration option if desired.
Muse also has other less invasive applications. For one, you can use Muse to create custom ads (AI has made significant inroads into advertising over the past year) or experiment with home decor ideas (in this video, users leverage Muse to see what a used sofa in the garage would look like). This last feature is designed to integrate with Facebook Marketplace, Meta’s popular Craigslist-like place for used furniture and accessories.
This model also features prompt-based image editing capabilities and can be used to create images to share across Meta’s various 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 releasing a host of new AI effects for Instagram Stories supported by Muse. These effects include a variety of customizable filters that you can use to modify your existing photos.
Meta says using the new AI model is free for “daily creations,” but beyond certain limits users will need to use Meta’s subscription plan.
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 assistant called Creator and Pocket, an app that can be used to code the atmosphere 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.
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