Figma has pulled its new AI tool, Make Designs, after it generated designs that closely resembled Apple's iOS weather app. CEO Dylan Field took responsibility for the rushed release and defended the company's AI development approach. Andy Allen, CEO of Not Boring Software, highlighted the issue, warning designers to check for potential legal issues.
Key Points
- AI Tool Issue: Figma's Make Designs tool, which uses generative AI to mock up apps, was removed after it produced designs similar to Apple's weather app.
- Responsibility and Defense: CEO Dylan Field admitted to pushing the team to meet deadlines and defended the company's AI development approach.
- External Models: Figma CTO Kris Rasmussen clarified that the AI models used were not trained by Figma but were off-the-shelf models and a bespoke design system.
- AI Models Used: The AI models powering Make Designs are OpenAI’s GPT-4o and Amazon’s Titan Image Generator G1.
- Training Policies: Figma introduced new AI training policies, allowing users to opt in or out of having their content used for training by August 15th.
- Future Plans: Figma plans to train its own models to improve design workflows while ensuring they learn general design patterns and specific Figma concepts.
- Quality Assurance: Figma is reviewing its bespoke design system to ensure sufficient variation and quality standards before re-enabling Make Designs.
- Beta Status: Make Designs is currently in beta, and Figma expects to re-enable it soon. Other AI features remain available in beta.
Figma is not alone in facing scrutiny over AI in creative tools. Adobe and Meta have also had to address concerns regarding AI training and labeling practices.
