Unveiling Meta's New AI Features: From Virtual Assistants to Image Restyling

• Meta

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, recently made headlines with a slew of AI-focused announcements during its annual Connect conference. The tech giant is introducing a range of new AI experiences and features to enhance users' creativity, expression, and productivity.

The landscape of AI is changing, and Meta is at the forefront with its new line of AI-powered bots, features, and products.

The Power Behind Meta's AI: Llama 2

At the heart of Meta's AI technology is Llama 2 - a large language model designed to generate text and code in response to prompts. Released in July, Llama 2 is trained on a mix of publicly available data, allowing it to create specialized datasets rooted in natural conversation, providing users with a more friendly and conversational AI experience. Meta also hinted at the upcoming release of Llama 3 in 2024.

Meta's AI Assistant Backed by Bing

Meta's new AI Assistant is designed to provide real-time information and generate photorealistic images from text prompts within seconds. The AI Assistant can assist users with various tasks, such as planning a trip in a group chat or answering general knowledge questions. The AI Assistant can leverage the power of Microsoft’s Bing to provide real-time web results for a wide range of queries.

AI Chatbots Based on Celebrities

Adding a dash of star power to its AI offerings, Meta has unveiled 28 AI personality characters modeled after famous individuals from sports, music, social media, and more. These characters, built entirely from AI using the Llama 2 LLM, are designed to engage users in topic-specific chats on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram.

AI Studio for Businesses and Creators

With the introduction of the AI Studio platform, Meta is providing businesses and creators with the tools to build personalized AI chatbots for its various messaging services. This platform will allow companies to create AIs that reflect their brand's values and improve customer service experiences.

AI Stickers Powered by Emu

CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the upcoming feature of generative AI stickers for Meta's messaging apps. Powered by Emu, Meta's new foundational model for image generation, this feature will allow users to create unique AI stickers instantly, adding a whole new level of personalization to their chats.

AI Image Editing: Restyle and Add a Backdrop

Meta's new AI features also extend to image editing, with the introduction of 'restyle' and 'backdrop' functionalities. These features, powered by Emu, will allow users to reimagine the visual styles of an image or change the scene or background of an image using prompts.

A Word on Safety

Meta is fully aware of the potential for AI to generate inaccurate or inappropriate content. To mitigate this, the company has put in thousands of hours of red-teaming and prompt training to ensure its AI assistant and characters avoid harmful or sensitive topics.