Instagram head Adam Mosseri took to the social media platform this week to share a sneak peek at a generative AI video tool – but followers were quick to point out that the Instagram head failed to use the AI-generated label. In a video shared on December 19, Mosseri talks about the upcoming Movie Gen tool, allowing the beta software to change the view from Mosseri on a couch to Mosseri in Paris, wearing a different outfit, sitting next to a hippo, and even transforming into a literal puppet.
“A lot of you make amazing content that makes Instagram what it is and we want to give you more tools to help you realize your ideas,” Mosseri says in the video. “And you should be able to do anything you want with your videos. You should be able to change your outfit, or change the context in which you are sitting, or add a chain. Whatever you can think of.”
Mosseri said that the demo uses an early AI research model, but says that he’s hoping to bring the tool to Instagram next year. Mosseri asked followers to “let me know what you think.” And the internet certainly delivered.
While the comments section of Mosseri’s video is peppered with some comments from users impressed with the feature or hoping to try it out, many of the video's comments criticize Instagram for continually pushing authenticity, then developing a tool that can fake anything from where you are located to what you are wearing. The comments section is littered with comments like “enough fakery already,” as well as commenters calling the feature a “gimmick.”
One commenter pointed out that Mosseri’s video doesn’t have Meta’s “made with AI label” which typically appears under the username at the top of the video. Instagram says that content modified with Meta’s AI tools may automatically be tagged with an AI label, while also giving users a toggle to properly label other videos. Of course, as an early technology preview, Mosseri wasn’t using the fully-fledged app to make his video and the use of AI is obvious from the caption and audio.
Several followers used the comments section to ask for the features that they would rather have instead, including several creators asking for a fix for reduced reach. Others asked for an option to remove AI content from the feed.
Some commenters asked for Instagram to just be Instagram, while another called the update “Snapchagram.” Several comments follow the line of "no one is asking for this.” Others tossed out terms like “fake” and “AI fatigue.”
AI-powered tools seem to have made up a majority of software announcements for several major brands over the last year. Meta AI now appears in multiple areas of the company’s social media apps, from the search tool in Instagram to a chatbot in Messenger to tools inside the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.
You may also like
Did you know you can follow Digital Camera World on Instagram @DigitalCameraMag, or on TikTok? Or, browse our list of the best cameras for Instagram.