Meta is starting to make good on its promise to bring generative AI to all of its products. At the company’s Connect event, it revealed new AI image editing and sticker-creation features for Instagram.

A tool called "restyle" is a bit like a supercharged generative AI filter. It allows users to remix their existing photos into different looks. “Think of typing a descriptor like ‘watercolor’ or a more detailed prompt like ‘collage from magazines and newspapers, torn edges’ to describe the new look and feel of the image you want to create,” the company explained.

The company also previewed a new tool called “backdrop,” a generative AI-powered green screen feature. Users can type prompts like “put me in front of a sublime aurora borealis” will create a new version of the image with the relevant background applied. The company didn’t say when restyle and backdrop would be available to Instagram users, but said the tools would be arriving “soon.” 

Meta

It added that posts created using both backdrop and restyle would come with labels indicating "the use of AI to reduce the chances of people mistaking them for human-generated content." Meta didn't share what the labels will look like, but info screens saying "image generated by Meta AI" have previously been spotted in Instagram. 

Meta also showed off new AI-generated stickers, which will be available on Instagram, as wel as WhatsApp, Messenger and Facebook Stories. The feature allows users to quickly create custom stickers for their chats and Stories via text prompts. The stickers will be rolling out “to select English-language users” of the company’s apps “over the next month,” Meta said.

The features come as Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly promised that generative AI features will be coming to every Meta-owned app. The company also announced more than 25 generative AI chatbots, including several personalities based on real-life celebrities and creators.

Mondays rumors turned out to be true, Meta announced at its Connect event on Wednesday that it will release a line of digital personalities built on the company's freshly announced Meta AI chatbot platform. What could possibly go wrong?

Meta AI is a new genAI assistant that will span the company's various properties including WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram (and arriving shortly on the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and Quest 3). User will be able to interact with it using natural language prompts. The AI is built on a custom model derived from Meta's LLaMA 2 LLM and will pull real-time information from the web using Microsoft Bing.     

What's more, the company is also rolling out 28 (!!!) chatbot "characters" meant to address specific niche interests, whether those are specific sports, media, or genre choices. These personalities will be voiced by a variety of modern influencers and celebrities: 

Charli D’Amelio as Coco, Dance enthusiast

Chris Paul as Perry, Pro golfer helping you perfect your stroke

Dwyane Wade as Victor, Ironman triathlete motivating you to be your best self

Izzy Adesanya as Luiz, Showy MMA prospect who can back up his trash talk

Kendall Jenner as Billie, No-BS, ride-or-die companion

LaurDIY as Dylan, Quirky DIY and Craft expert and companion for Gen Z

MrBeast as Zach, The big brother who will roast you — because he cares

Naomi Osaka as Tamika, Anime-obsessed Sailor Senshi in training

Paris Hilton as Amber, Detective partner for solving whodunnits

Raven Ross as Angie, Workout class queen who balances fitness with meditation

Roy Choi as Max, Seasoned sous chef for culinary tips and tricks

Sam Kerr as Sally, Free-spirited friend who’ll tell you when to take a deep breath

Snoop Dogg as Dungeon Master, Choose your own adventure with the Dungeon Master

Tom Brady as Bru, Wisecracking sports debater who pulls no punches

The initial batch of personalities will be available to US users starting today, with more performances coming from Bear Grylls, Chloe Kim, Josh Richards and others in the coming weeks.

Since the release of ChatGPT last November, Meta has been relatively slow to release a generative AI chatbot of its own, at least compared to competitors like Google and Microsoft. Instead, Meta has kept its focus on the LLaMA platform, its open-source large language model designed for commercial use, as well as a host of AI-enhanced, multimodal tools.  

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

We learned at last year's Meta Connect that Quest headsets would gain official support for Xbox Cloud Gaming and now we have a clearer idea of when that will happen. During this year's event, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the game streaming service will be available on Meta Quest 3 sometime in December. 

Using your headset, you'll be able to stream games like Halo Infinite, Starfield and Forza Horizon 5 to a large, virtual 2D screen. You'll need an Game Pass Ultimate subscription to use Xbox Cloud Gaming, as well as a compatible controller. A disclaimer notes that the service will only be available on Quest in select regions. It's unclear if and when Xbox Cloud Gaming will be available on Quest 2 and Quest Pro.

Enthusiasts have already found ways to access Xbox Cloud Gaming on Quest headsets, but official support will make it easy for anyone to dive right in. By the time the service becomes available on Quest, Microsoft may have closed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, so you might kind of be able to play the likes of Call of Duty and Overwatch 2 in virtual reality in a few months.

Threads is preparing a feature that allows users to delete a Threads account without also deleting their Instagram account, as reported by TechCrunch. This comes straight from Meta’s chief privacy officer Michael Protti. He stated at last week’s TechCrunch Disrupt event that the feature would be ready for primetime by December.

What’s the holdup? This is a more difficult process than it seems to the layperson. Threads was built on top of Instagram so the two are linked like two kids in a trenchcoat pretending to be a grown up. Protti said the difficulty to separate the two accounts led the company to develop alternative tools to minimize frustration, like the ability to deactivate accounts or to set them to private. Instagram head Adam Mosseri said back in July that the company was experimenting with methods to decouple the platforms and it looks like the devs finally figured it out.

Last week, web developer Alessandro Paluzzi managed to peek behind Meta’s code curtain and found early versions of the forthcoming update, noting that these beta builds block users from opening a new Threads handle with the same Instagram account for 120 days after they participate in the deletion process. Things tend to change as experimental software prepares for an official release, so we don’t know if that 120 days thing is set in stone.

Protti also confirmed that Meta is still working on integrating Threads with the sprawling fediverse. For the uninitiated, the fediverse is a collection of social networks that, while separate, can communicate with one another. Mastodon is the most well-known example of this type of network. He says the company’s trying to iron out some bugs, citing an issue where a Threads post heads to another server and is then deleted by the original author, while remaining on the secondary server.

Threads certainly has some engagement issues, but Meta’s been pretty consistent about pumping out updates that address user concerns. The company recently added keyword search and a robust web app, among other upgrades. Mosseri recently chronicled upcoming Threads features on an Instagram Stories post, stating that the company’s working on introducing improved account recommendations, an edit button for posts and more. 

LinkedIn is making its platform more accessible by integrating Microsoft’s Immersive Reader. The service says that, in honor of Dyslexia Awareness Month and National Disability Employment Awareness Month, it's providing users with more ways to digest articles and newsletters. That seems particularly useful at a time when LinkedIn has been embracing longer-form content.

Every article and newsletter will feature the Immersive Reader icon, which provides access to several accessibility tools. A text-to-speech function can read articles out loud. LinkedIn says that "distinguishing between words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently makes it easier for auditory learners and those with visual impairments to consume and process content." The tool supports more than 60 languages. On a similar note, Immersive Reader powers real-time translation for more than 100 languages.

LinkedIn

Other features include one called Content Isolation. This separates the main text of an article or newsletter from everything else that's on the screen to help people focus on reading. Immersive Reader is able to isolate a line or two at a time as well. It also supports a feature called Syllable Splitting. According to LinkedIn, this breaks more complex words down into smaller components to help users understand and pronounce them.

Immersive Reader has been making its way into several Microsoft products and services over the last few years. It's been available in Office and Minecraft: Education Edition for some time. Bringing the tool to LinkedIn should make the platform easier to use for folks with dyslexia and other conditions.

The Meta Connect 2023 VR showcase event starts tomorrow and there are a couple of ways to watch it. It’s streaming live on Facebook, which is to be expected, but you can also access the showcase from Meta’s Horizon Worlds app with a Quest VR headset. The event itself is a two-day affair, but the keynote address starts on September 27 at 1 PM ET.

This should be a big one for Meta, as the Quest 3 headset is just around the corner. We’ll likely get an official release date, which is currently described as sometime toward the end of the year. The original Quest 3 announcement was also light on certain hardware specs, so expect announcements on RAM, CPU, battery life, lenses and more.

Here’s what we already know. The Quest 3 will cost $500 and feature full-color passthrough, with Mark Zuckerberg calling it "the first mainstream headset with high-res color mixed reality.” It’ll also boast redesigned ergonomic controllers, a more comfortable form factor when compared to the Quest 2, and a significant reduction in both weight and size.

Of course, any console is only as good as its games and experiences. We already know that the Quest 3 will be backwards compatible, so you’ll have access to every single title published for the Quest 2 and the OG model, but Zuckerberg and company are sure to announce plenty of new games exclusive to the forthcoming platform. It has already revealed some cross-platform titles, like Assassin’s Creed: Nexus VR and Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord, so we should get information on pricing and availability. There’s also a game based on the hit Netflix show Stranger Things launching sometime before the holidays.

The VR wars are starting to heat up, as the Quest 3 releases just a couple of months before Apple’s long-awaited Vision Pro headset. The massive price gap between the two, however, makes the Quest 3 much more affordable for regular people.

SAG-AFTRA members have voted in favor of a strike authorization for performers working in video games, including those who do voice work, motion capture and stunts for the industry. Of the 34,687 members who cast their ballot, 98.32 percent voted "yes." It doesn't automatically mean that the performers are going on strike, only that they could after September 26. 

The guild explained that it's been negotiating for a new contract with video game companies since 2022, but that they "have refused to agree to critical terms [its] members need." For its next bargaining sessions on September 26, 27 and 28, it believes the strike authorization gives it the added leverage needed to get the companies to agree to its terms. At the moment, the guild is in talks with Activision, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Take 2 Productions, VoiceWorks Productions and WB Games.

Specifically, SAG-AFTRA is fighting for wage hikes that would allow performers to make a living from their work in the face of inflation, as well as more rigorous safety measures on set. The guild is also fighting for a contract that would protect performers against exploitative uses of artificial intelligence, such as companies making unauthorized copies of their likeness and voice. These all mirror the issues that ignited the ongoing strikes in the film and TV industry. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is believed to be nearing an agreement with major studios, with one of the last sticking points in their negotiations being the use of generative AI in content production. 

Spotify is rolling out a new feature called "Jam," which will give friends a way to curate a single playlist on the service and listen to it together in real time. Participants in a Jam session can contribute tracks to a shared queue, which they can access whether they're in the same room or in various places around the world. The audio streaming giant is rolling out the feature to both free and Premium subscribers, but only the latter will be able to start a session and invite others to join as its host. 

Premium users can launch a joint listening experience by selecting a song or a playlist, and then tapping the speaker icon at the bottom of their screen or the three-dot menu at the top. From there, they can select "Start a Jam." Housemates on the same Wi-Fi connection will be automatically prompted to join and contribute to the session as soon as they fire up their Spotify app. Hosts can also invite people anywhere in the world by getting them to scan a QR code or by hitting share and posting the link on social media. 

While Jam was designed as a collaborative experience where participants can add music to the playlist, hosts will have the power to change the order of the tracks and remove songs they believe don't fit a theme or vibe. Spotify says they also get to determine who's in the Jam, though it's unclear if that means hosts will be able to kick out anybody from the session. That said, hosts can switch on "Guest controls" to allow all participants to rearrange the queue or to remove tracks from it. 

Spotify Jam will be available globally starting today, so all users will soon be able to enjoy the shared experience with their friends. Those who'd rather stream music alone but still be able to discover new songs and artists would probably enjoy Spotify's daylist more. The new playlist launched earlier this month keeps changing throughout the day, based on the kind of music the user typically listens to. 

Meta’s planning on unleashing a swarm of personality-driven AI chatbots to attract young users to its various platforms, as originally reported by The Wall Street Journal. The first of these bots could launch as early as this week, with rumors persisting that one will get announced during Meta’s Connect conference on Wednesday.

It looks like these bots won’t be tied to a particular platform under Meta’s umbrella and should launch on a variety of social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp. WSJ says that Meta employees have been testing the generative bots for a while. The bots are being released to increase chat engagement, but some may offer productivity tools like coding and the like.

These AI chatbots are stuffed with personality to keep the young (and young at heart) entertained. Specifics remain vague, but WSJ got a look at some internal documents that detail an AI called “Bob the Robot” that’s loosely based on Bender from Futurama. This bot is a self-described “sassmaster general” with the internal documents referring to it as a “sassy robot that taps into the type of farcical humor that is resonating with young people.” As a note, Futurama premiered almost 25 years ago, long before many of those farcical humor-loving young people were even born.

There’s also a bot called “Alvin the Alien” that reportedly pries users for personal information in its quest to understand humans. “Your species holds fascination for me,” an internal report has it saying. “Share your experiences, thoughts and emotions! I hunger for understanding.” One employee noted in the memo that users “might fear this character” as it seems like it’s “purposefully designed to collect personal information.” The company has been famously squeaky-clean regarding privacy violations in the past, so this should cause no concern.

Meta’s been trying to court younger users for a while now, particularly since the meteoric rise of TikTok. The app has overtaken Instagram in recent years and CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants that marketshare back, telling investors during a conference call in 2021 that the company would retool its “teams to make serving young adults their North Star rather than optimizing for the larger number of older people.” So it looks like there won’t be a chatbot that complains about participation trophies or Bud Light or whatever.

WSJ suggests that dozens of these chatbots are on the way, referred to internally as Gen AI Personas. They’ll also pop up in metaverse applications in addition to standard social media services. Reports also indicate that Meta’s prepping a toolset for celebrities to allow them to create their own AI chatbots to interact with fans.

Of course, Meta’s not the first social media company to court youngsters with personality-filled chatbots. Amazon's prepping an Alexa-powered voice chat service for kids. Snap also launched the My AI service back in February and it has been used by over 150 million people since that release. Despite the success, My AI has run into some troubling issues for a product intended for children. For instance, it has chatted about alcohol and sex with users and even randomly started posting photos without consent. We’ll have to wait and see if “Bob the Robot” and his cohorts start behaving badly when they launch.

Prime Video users will soon see ads on shows and movies unless they pay an extra $3 per month on top of their regular Prime subscription, Amazon has announced. "Starting in early 2024, Prime Video shows and movies will include limited advertisements," the company wrote, noting that pricing for the ad-free tier will be announced for additional countries "at a later date."

The news represents a significant change to Prime Video, which hadn't previously served ads next to movie and TV content as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The streaming service is currently included for free with a Prime or $9 per month if purchased separately, offering third-party content (movies, TV series, etc.) and Amazon Original content produced by Amazon Studios. That includes series like The Boys and The Citadel, along with movies including Air, Manchester by the Sea and The Big Sick. 

It didn't say how many ads you'll have to watch, though Variety suggests "limited advertisements" could mean around four minutes per hour. "We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers," the company said. "Ads in Prime Video content will be introduced in the US, UK, Germany, and Canada in early 2024, followed by France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia later in the year. No action is required for Prime members. We’re not making changes in 2024 to the current price of Prime membership."

The news follows a report early this summer that Amazon was planning some kind of ad-supported Prime Video tier. Now, it turns out that's just the regular subscription, with the new tier effectively an add-on.

Amazon justified the decision, saying it will allow it to "continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time." It also cited the "vast selection of movies and series, including Amazon Originals and live sports, along with critically acclaimed series like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel". The company recently spent millions to acquire rights to NFL Thursday Night Football and acquired MGM Studios in 2021 for $8.5 billion. 

Amazon has already dallied with ads, as it currently shows them next to live sports streaming on Prime. Amazon also offers the FreeVee ad-supported site with over 100 Prime Video original series, available on its Fire TV stick, on other devices and as an app. 

Ad-free Prime Video certainly made Amazon's $139 per year ($15 per month) Prime membership compelling. With that now watered down, and Amazon also introducing new fees for same-day deliveries, it will be interesting to see if there's any impact on subscriber numbers.