Just days after Meta introduced its Muse Image AI generator, the Mark Zuckerberg-run company has done a complete U-turn.
Under pressure from a now-victory-lap-taking CAA and SAG-AFTRA, the tech behemoth announced Friday that the feature is “no longer available” on Instagram, admitting they “missed the mark” amid privacy concerns over the automatic opt-in for users.
“Earlier this week, we announced that one way for people to generate images in Meta AI is by @-mentioning public Instagram accounts that they want to reference,” Meta said in an IG post Friday. “Our intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public content could be referenced in this way. We’ve heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark, so it’s no longer available.”
Meta added, “We’ve heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark, so it’s no longer available.”
A quick scan of Instagram shows that Meta has, in fact, disabled Muse.
At its core, a Muse user just needed to tag a public or unprotected IG feed, and it instantly becomes meat for the AI generator to create its own images or “remixes,” as they are sometimes called, after which the images are available online permanently.
Friday’s announcement comes after CAA called for Meta to implement guardrails for Muse, despite the agency rolling out its own AI Vault program to archive its members’ likenesses forever. “No one’s name, image, likeness, voice, or creative work should be used by any third party, including AI models, without clear, documented consent,” the uber-agency said Wednesday.
In a statement on Friday, CAA said: “We commend Meta for its swift decision to remove the Muse Image feature. Putting individual rights and consent at the forefront is essential to building responsible technology. We look forward to ongoing conversations to ensure creators stay protected as technology evolves.”
The actors union echoed CAA’s concerns about what appears to be a case of Big Tech overreach. In a statement issued Friday, SAG-AFTRA said: “With the dangers of nonconsensual digital replicas well known to all, a feature that encouraged that behavior is unwise. We appreciate its discontinuance. It is the responsible thing to do.”
The use of AI in Hollywood continues to be a hot-button topic in recent years. SAG-AFTRA has endorsed the Trump administration’s AI policy framework, which calls for Congress to enact legislation that includes parental controls, intellectual property rights protection, First Amendment protections, expanding AI workforce development, allowing data centers to generate their own power and removing legal barriers that limit AI innovation.
Last month, Trump signed an executive order for voluntary framework in which AI companies would provide the government with access to new models for a 30-day review period before their release.
Erik Pedersen contributed to this report.