Meta Says Instagram is Set to Receive AI-Based Editing Features ‘Soon’
Meta seems to be going all in on artificial intelligence (AI) as the company announced a suite of new AI features, including image generation and editing, across its apps Wednesday’s Connect event.
Meta AI, the Facebook and Instagram owner’s new conversational assistant, is in beta and is available on Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. It’ll also come to the just-announced second-gen Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and the Quest 3. Curiously, Facebook didn’t get a mention regarding Meta AI. The feature will use a large language model to communicate via text-based chats, similar to Chat-GPT. It’ll also have real-time information through a partnership with search engine Bing.
The new AI product will also offer a tool for image generation, like Midjourney and Dall-E, available in the U.S. Meta says it’ll be capable of AI-generated image edits, called, “restyle,” that will allow users to redesign pictures in new styles — like taking a photograph and making it look like a watercolor. With the “backdrop tool” users can use a green screen-like effect couple with AI image generation to put themselves in different settings.
Meta notes that these images will indicate the use of AI, but it’s unclear what that indication may look like. The company simply said it is “experimenting with forms of visible and invisible markers.” Other AI image generators have started experimenting with invisible watermarks, so that may be one direction for Meta to explore.
It’s also unclear when exactly the AI image editing tools will roll out to Instagram and other apps. A press release from Meta just says these features will come “soon.”
Stickers have been available in the company’s chat features for several years now. Wednesday, Meta said the tool will get an AI upgrade that lets users make their own stickers for chats and stories. It’ll roll out to English language users over the next month, but no wonder on when others might get to try these out.
The company at the heart of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, though, wants to assure users that it’s taking the risks of AI very seriously.
“We are committed to building responsibly with safety in mind. We are continuing to test and evolve the capabilities of our AIs, and will improve the experience over time through what we learn from your interactions with them. Your direct feedback and the conversations you have with our AIs are core parts of what will help us improve our AI models, and ultimately enhance the experience at scale,” a release from the company states.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
