turns out instagram may label your photos as 'made with AI' even when they're not

Instagram starts (MIS)labeling AI-generated content

Since April 2024, Meta has started labeling content on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads to indicate when it’s created with artificial intelligence. While this move aims to enhance transparency and trust by helping users identify AI-generated content, there’s a significant issue. The ‘Made with AI’ label is being applied to content that isn’t actually AI-made. Online users are frustrated because even minor Photoshop edits are being tagged, causing concern among creatives who feel their work is being wrongly identified.

image courtesy of Meta (also head image)

Controversy Over Meta’s AI Labeling System

‘As more generative AI tools become available, it’s important to be able to recognize when something may have been created with generative AI,’ Meta shares in their post introducing their new AI identification system. ‘Content may be labeled automatically when it contains AI indicators, or you can label AI-generated content when you share it on Instagram.’ However, the automatic labeling feature has faced criticism for its inaccuracy.

Photographer Peter Yan jumped on Threads to ask Instagram head Adam Mosseri why his image of Mount Fuji was tagged as ‘Made with AI’ when it was actually a real photo. ‘I did not use generative AI, only Photoshop to clean up some spots. This ‘Made with AI’ was auto-labeled by Instagram when I posted it, I did not select this option,’ he explains in a follow-up post. It seems Instagram marked the content because Yan used a generative AI tool to remove a trash bin from the original photo. While removing unwanted objects and spots is common for photographers, labeling the entire image as AI-generated misrepresents the work.

image via @yantastic

Another Instagram user, Matt Growcoot, has also encountered inaccurate labeling of his content. In a recently shared post, he mentions that Instagram labeled his photo as ‘Made With AI’ despite it being a genuine photograph he took. ‘The reason for the AI tag is because I removed a speck of dust with an AI-powered tool in Photoshop,’ he says. Most users agree that the labeling system is incomplete and inaccurate. However, one commenter noted, ‘You did technically use AI then. Just go back to the original photo and use any non-AI tool like the spot healing brush or something. I don’t see the issue.’

A commenter on a relevant Reddit post, said ‘IG slaps the ‘Made with AI’ label when you use Adobe AI tools to fix up photos, which BTW every single photographer uses…Tools such as automatic masks or healing tools. You can of course do this by hand but it’s so much faster to use these tools provided by adobes photo editing apps. (…) This feature is not ready IMO and should only be visible if the image was edited heavily on Photoshop or completly made with AI.’