On Tuesday, Meta released “Muse Image,” a new AI image creation feature that lets users create original images, edit existing photos, and even create custom ads right within its apps.
But one skill quickly became the focus of controversy.
Muse Image allows users to create AI images using photos from public Instagram accounts. As long as a person’s profile is public, another user can tag that account and use their images as part of an AI-generated creation. (Only private accounts and accounts owned by users under 18 are automatically excluded from the feature.)
A huge concern is consent. Users may have no idea that their public photos can be embedded into AI-generated images by strangers, and they’re not even notified when someone reuses their public content. Additionally, the easy manipulation of people’s images opens the door to misuse, harassment, impersonation and non-consensual image editing.
If you are looking to opt out from that, here’s how you can do it.
- Go to your profile and click on the three horizontal lines in the upper right corner.
- Scroll down to the “Share and Reuse” section.
- Look for the option that says, “Allow users to use your Instagram content with AI features in Meta”
- Enable the setting for both suspensions and wheels.
Muse Image comes at a time when artificial intelligence tools are increasingly integrated into social media platforms. As tech companies scramble to develop new AI capabilities, many experts argue that stronger privacy protections and greater transparency are needed so that users fully understand how their photos and personal data are being used.
Public skepticism around artificial intelligence is already high. According to a Pew Research Center survey, 35% of respondents said they were more worried than excited about the growing use of artificial intelligence.
Additionally, Meta’s track record on user privacy has also fueled skepticism around its latest AI feature.
In 2019, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) imposed a $5 billion fine against Facebook, concluding that the platform had violated a 2012 consent order by misleading users about the control they had over their personal information. This followed a high-profile scandal where political consultancy Cambridge Analytica gained access to data on up to 87 million Facebook users through a personality quiz app. Facebook’s platform policies at the time allowed developers to collect information about those users’ friends without their knowledge or express consent.
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