Meta has once again set waves in the world of technologies, announcing a plethora of AI-power features that will change the way you interact with its platforms.
The tech giant announced this development at the annual Connect conference, reflecting its commitment to leverage the power of generative AI.
From messaging apps to virtual reality headsets and smart glasses, the upgraded features will be available across a wide range of applications.
Most of these innovations are based on the new open-access AI model of Meta, Llama 2, which was launched in July. Let’s take a quick look at the series of innovations that will transform the visual expression on Meta’s platforms.
AI Assistant: Providing Real-Time Information
The AI Assistant, powered by Llama 2 LLM, is one of the outstanding features of Meta. The VP of GenAI at Meta, Ahmad Al-Dahle, said that the assistant is capable of providing real-time information and generating photorealistic images from text prompts within seconds.
Beyond answering questions, it has been designed to plan trips, engage in chat groups, and even use the power of the Bing Browser for real-time web results.
The first extension of this platform is web search, backed by Bing. Itqu ensures that users can access updated information. Meta will be launching the AI Assistant in beta in the US on Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Besides, Meta plans to enhance its reach to Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and the Quest 3 VR headset.
AI Personality Chatbots: Meet Your Celebrity Chat Companions
Meta introduced 28 AI personality characters based on real celebrities and influencers. These chatbots are specific to respective topics, and will be available on Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram, bringing famous personalities to life.
From football star Tom Brady to tennis sensation Naomi Osaka, these chatbots promise engaging conversations. Meta also plans to extend their knowledge base, potentially integrating Bing search in the near future.
These AI personalities are being designed to respond through text, besides having audio capabilities. However, the current video elements are based on AI-generated animations.
AI Studio: Empowering Businesses and Creators
Meta has also opened up fresh possibilities for businesses with its AI Studio platform. It will build AI chatbots customized to the values of their brands. This is likely to improve customer services across Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook.
In a post, Meta wrote that AI Studio will help organizations “Create AIs that reflect their brand’s values and improve customer service experiences.”
While initially available in alpha, Meta plans to scale the toolkit in the coming year. Creators will also have access to AI Studio.
AI Stickers: A New Way to Express Emotions
The messaging apps of Meta are likely to get a fresh look with generative AI stickers. Powered by the Emu foundational model for image generation, these stickers allow users to create unique AI stickers.
Therefore, users can now express subtler emotions with stickers. You simply need to type the desired description of the image. Meta will make this feature available to English-language users at the beginning, and roll it out in other languages over time.
AI Image Editing: Transforming Your Visuals
Meta also announced the introduction of two exciting features to Instagram in the U.S, the Restyle and Backdrop. With Restyle, users can reimagine the visual styles of images, while Backdrop changes the scene or background of photos.
Meta has used the Emu technology in these innovations too. For the sake of transparency, the AI-generated images of Meta will indicate their origin. This will mitigate confusion of these visuals with human-generated content.
Meta Remains Vigilant On Safety While Rolling Out New Features
The social media giant embraces the potential of conversational AI, it recognizes the importance of safety. The company has put in significant efforts in read-teaming and refining its prompts to prevent its AI from producing inappropriate responses.
Besides, the platform remains committed to transparency, releasing system cards alongside its AI features to provide detailed insights into their development.
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Krishi Chowdhary
Journalist
