Instagram Tests AI-Generated Self-Images in User Feeds, Sparking Privacy Concerns

Instagram is randomly showing people AI-generated images of themselves

The age of AI is truly upon us, as it becomes harder to escape machine-generated content. Even if you think you've set the algorithm just right, some social media might show you AI-generated content anyway. Some Instagram users have been reporting that the app has been showing them images of themselves in different places and situations. According to 404 Media, these images can appear when you're just scrolling through Instagram. It does seem as though you have to use Meta AI beforehand in order to see these posts. One Reddit user claimed they edited a selfie with the technology, only to then see an image of themselves standing in a mirror maze. Meta then confirmed that the post was indeed real, but it wasn't an ad for Meta AI. Instead, it seems that the program will just randomly create images for you, and see if you'd like to post them.

Instagram Begins Randomly Showing Users AI-Generated Images of Themselves

Instagram has begun testing a feature in which Meta's AI will automatically generate images of users in various situations and put them into that user's feed. One Redditor posted over the weekend that they were scrolling through Instagram and were presented an AI-generated slideshow of themselves standing in front of "an endless maze of mirrors," for example. "Used Meta AI to edit a selfie, now Instagram is using my face on ads targeted at me," the person posted. The user was shown a slideshow of AI-generated images in which an AI version of himself is standing in front of an endless "mirror maze." "Imagined for you: Mirror maze," the "location of the post reads." "Imagine yourself reflecting on life in an endless maze of mirrors where you're the main focus," the caption of the AI images say. The Reddit user told 404 Media that at one point he had uploaded selfies of himself into Instagram's "Imagine" feature, which is Meta's AI image generation feature. People on Reddit initially did not even believe that these were real, with people posting things like "it's a fake story," and "I doubt that this is true," "this is a straight up lie lol," and "why would they do this?" The Redditor has repeatedly had to explain that, yes, this did happen. "I don't really have a reason to fake this, I posted screenshots on another thread," he said. 404 Media sent the link to the Reddit post directly to Meta who confirmed that it is real, but not an "ad." "Once you access that feature and upload a selfie to edit, you'll start seeing these ads pop up with auto-generated images with your likeness," the Redditor told 404 Media. A Meta spokesperson told 404 Media that the images are not "ads," but are a new feature that Meta announced in September and has begun testing live. Meta AI has an "Imagine Yourself" feature in which you upload several selfies and take photos of yourself from different angles. You can then ask the AI to do things like "imagine me as an astronaut." Once this feature is enabled, Meta's AI will in some cases begin to automatically generate images of you in random scenarios that it thinks are aligned with your interests. "We're testing new Meta AI-generated content in your Facebook and Instagram feeds, so you may see images from Meta AI created just for you (based on your interests or current trends)," an announcement post from September read. "You can tap a suggested prompt to take that content in a new direction or swipe to Imagine new content in real time." Examples Meta showed at the time were images of users as astronauts and video game characters. The Meta spokesperson said that these images will only appear if you go through the "Imagine Yourself" onboarding process, which I went through to test it here: "Meta may show AI images of you in places like Feed," it says. "Only you can see them." I have not yet received any AI-generated images of myself in my timeline. The Reddit post, which was upvoted to the top of r/ABoringDystopia, is the first example of an automatically generated AI image of a person being put into that person's Instagram feed that I've seen so far. It came on the same weekend that Meta's AI-generated profiles went viral and were ultimately deleted from the platform. Meta continues to believe that people want to be shown more and more AI-generated content and is finding new ways to fill people's feeds with AI. Now, it seems, some of that AI-generated content will feature AI versions of users themselves. We previously reported that using Snapchat's AI selfie feature gives the company permission to use AI versions of you in advertisements.

Instagram Has Started Showing AI-Generated Pictures of Users

AI-generated pictures of people have started appearing in their Instagram feeds and it's alarming folk. A Redditor shared a screenshot from a post by Meta AI that appeared in his feed showing an AI version of him in a hall of mirrors. "Used Meta AI to edit a selfie, now Instagram is using my face on ads targeted at me," writes the Redditor who tells 404 Media that he had previously uploaded selfies of himself to Instagram's "Imagine Me" feature. PetaPixel reported in September that Meta was planning to roll out the "Imagined for You" feature which sees AI images of the user appear in their Facebook and Instagram feeds. It's an expansion of the "Imagine Me" feature which allows users to create AI selfies based on their photos. A Meta spokesperson said that AI images of the user's face will only appear if they have "onboarded to Meta's Imagine yourself feature, which includes adding photos to that feature" and accepted its terms. The picture that appeared on the Redditor's Instagram had the caption: "Imagine yourself reflecting on life in an endless maze of mirrors where you're the main focus." Users can quickly share it or generate a different version. When it was announced, Meta showed off different styles including the user as royalty or as a video game character. A Meta spokesperson corrected the Redditor's description of the feature as an "ad" telling CNET that it is instead a new feature that it has begun testing live. "We test lots of new AI features publicly in limited capacities to see what people find interesting and useful to their experiences across our apps," says a Meta representative. "These images can only be generated for users who have onboarded to Meta's Imagine yourself feature, which includes adding photos to that feature, and (who) have accepted the feature's terms." If you would rather not see an AI version of yourself then tap the three dots on the top-right corner of a post if and when it appears and select "Hide". You can also select "Stop seeing this content" if you don't want to see any suggested AI images.

Instagram could randomly display AI-generated images of you after using Meta AI, in creepy test

Summary Instagram has begun testing Meta AI to insert AI-generated images of users in their feeds. Meta AI's "Imagine Yourself" feature prompts its image generation tool to create user portraits unprompted, following the onboarding process. Meta confirmed intentional insertion of AI-generated portraits, which are only visible to the individual user. ✕ Remove Ads In another AI-forward move that clearly no one asked for, Instagram has begun peppering users' feeds with generative AI images of themselves in imaginary situations. The disturbing feature came after Reddit user u/Green_Video_9831 apparently used Meta AI to edit a picture of himself (via 404 Media). Journalists at 404 Media reached out to Meta, with a representative explaining, "The images are not 'ads'," but instead a feature Meta teased in September. What the fake is going on with Meta AI? Of all the features in the world, this is certainly one Close The September Meta AI announcement did not explicitly mention that it would randomly insert AI-generated images of users into their feeds without warning. It did point out that a user would be able to "imagine yourself as a superhero or anything else right in feed, Stories and your Facebook profile pictures," and "share your AI-generated images so your friends can see." It also explained, "We're testing new Meta AI-generated content in your Facebook and Instagram feeds, so you may see images from Meta AI created just for you (based on your interests or current trends)." ✕ Remove Ads Reddit users were skeptical the claim was real, at first. The user confirmed in the comments and to 404 Media that the creepy insertions began after he used the Meta AI tool, and a Meta spokesperson backed up the assertion. This tactic is, in fact, part of the "Imagine Yourself" feature, and while it remains in the testing stage, the behavior is very much intentional on Meta's part. For what it's worth, Instagram did explcitly label the images with, "Only you can see this." Related 7 things I learned from using AI-generated images for the first time What you may not know about AI image generators Posts These are definitely not ads for Meta AI, according to Meta The following screenshots, provided by Meta as apparent examples of those in-feed implementations, show a user ostensibly starting the AI-generation process, and seeing one result in the form of landscape-like images. At no point does Meta indicate it would be inserting images of the user into a feed without notice. ✕ Remove Ads Close The test comes shortly after a set of ill-received AI personalities surfaced on Facebook to widespread irritation. Meta also unleashed AI chatbots on its text- and image-based platforms early in December, which received less criticism, but also didn't include any automatically AI-generated visuals. While generative AI is invading basically every part of the internet, this appears to be the first time a social media platform has served users fake images of themselves without explicit instructions. However, 404 Media has reported that Snapchat reserves the right to use AI-generated images of your face in ads. Jason Koebler, a co-founder of the publication, jumped on the grenade for us and uploaded his selfie to Meta AI through the "Imagine Yourself" onboarding process. At press time, he had yet to see inserted in his feed any images of himself in an imaginary room of infinite mirrors. ✕ Remove Ads Related How to delete your Instagram account You can kiss your Instagram account goodbye with these easy steps Posts

Instagram users find AI images of themselves on their feeds in...

An Instagram user was scrolling through his feed only to stumble upon AI-generated photos of himself shared by Meta AI, a phenomenon that people have dubbed "nightmarish." According to the anonymous user, who posted about his shock on Reddit this week, the images were created after he "used Meta AI to edit a selfie." As a result, the platform began "using my face on ads targeted at me," he wrote in the online forum. The personalized post, which only the account holder can see, is labeled as "Imagined for You" and is part of the app's "Imagine" feature. The tool uses generative AI to conjure up images of users "so you can be the star of your own story and share your favorites with friends," according to Meta, Axios reported. "I think there's been this trend over time where the feeds started off as primarily and exclusively content for people you followed, your friends," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously told The Verge about the feature, which began testing in September of last year. "And you just add on to that, a layer of, 'Okay, and we're also going to show you content that's generated by an AI system that might be something that you're interested in' ... how big it gets is kind of dependent on the execution and how good it is." A Meta spokesperson told CNET that the company is testing new tools that use artificial intelligence to gauge public interest and whether it would be useful to users. But Redditors were not thrilled by the so-called "creepy" and "scary" new feature. "This would scare me so bad I would probably assume I had finally lost it and went off the deep end, leading me to send this screenshot to everyone I know to verify it was actually me," commented one person, who called it "wild." "I don't like the future we're living in," chided another. "I'd throw away my phone," someone else chimed in. "I'm so glad I deleted my accounts from Facebook and Instagram," one user quipped. "I have removed my photos off Facebook and reduced there permissions to next to nothing," wrote another person. "F - - k this s - - t." "That is a nightmarish situation," someone else said. Speaking to CNET, the Meta spokesperson explained that the AI-generated images are only "generated for users who have onboarded to Meta's Imagine yourself feature, which includes adding photos to that feature, and (who) have accepted the feature's terms." To opt out of Meta AI, just select the three dots located in the top right-hand corner of the "Imagined for You" post. Users can then select "Stop seeing this content" to banish the AI-generated image suggestions from their feeds.

You May See an AI Version of Yourself as an Instagram Post: Here's How to Turn It Off

Some users are seeing AI-generated images of themselves as private posts on the platform. Instagram users who've sampled Meta's AI tools may see a familiar face and body pop up on Instagram posts: an AI version of themselves. Meta, Instagram's parent company, is experimenting with displaying AI-generated avatars in a series of photos shown in Instagram slideshows that only the user can see on their own feed. In a post on Reddit, a user going by Green_Video_9831, shared what he called a "personalized ad" of his AI-generated face and body in a hall of mirrors. He titled the post, "Used Meta AI to edit a selfie, now instagram is using my face on ads targeted at me." The user said in a subsequent post that he had a similar image taken at a museum of himself in his Instagram history and assumed Meta used that information to make something familiar. Read more: Custom AI Posts in Our Instagram Feeds? No Thanks, Meta The post from Meta AI's account says the image is, "Imagined for you" and contains the text, "Imagine yourself reflecting on life in an endless maze of mirrors where you're the main focus." A preview of this was mentioned in September in a Meta post about its new AI products, when the company said 400 million people were already using Meta AI. The Meta post said, "And we're testing new Meta AI-generated content in your Facebook and Instagram feeds, so you may see images from Meta AI created just for you (based on your interests or current trends)." A representative for Meta told CNET, "We test lots of new AI features publicly in limited capacities to see what people find interesting and useful to their experiences across our apps." As to the appearance of AI images on feeds, the spokesperson said, "These images can only be generated for users who have onboarded to Meta's Imagine yourself feature, which includes adding photos to that feature, and (who) have accepted the feature's terms." Read more: What Is Meta AI? What You Need to Know About the Social Network's AI Tools To opt out, the spokesperson said, users can tap the three dots on the top-right corner of a post and then select "Hide" to stop seeing similar posts or "Stop seeing this content" to turn off suggested AI images. Meta has been rolling out its Meta AI tools across all its major platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and Messenger. The tools can generate chatbots, help enhance photos and videos, and assist with tasks such as managing schedules or searching for posts. It includes celebrity voices such as John Cena and Kristen Bell for its voice-powered assistant. Meta, like other major tech companies such as OpenAI, Google, Apple, and Microsoft, is in a race to attract users to its AI offerings with the goal of becoming the most widely used AI assistant in the world. But the changes haven't gone without controversy. The company has touted the ability to generate AI avatars of influencers. But Meta also backtracked on its plan to introduce AI-generated profiles of characters after it had begun posting on Instagram and Facebook.