Key Points
- Figma’s AI tool “Make Design” is believed to be replicating Apple’s Weather app.
- CEO Dylan Field denies allegations; cites lack of proper QA.
- Feature to remain disabled until comprehensive QA is complete.
- Does artificial intelligence mean the end of digital design jobs? (Industry debates)
Figma AI Tool Faces Alleged Design Theft Probe
Design software leader Figma has temporarily deactivated its “Make Design” artificial intelligence (AI) feature following claims that it was copying Apple’s Weather app. The issue was brought up by NotBoring Software founder Andy Allen who found out that the AI tends to reproduce designs from Apple.
#Figma disables its #AI design feature that appeared to be ripping off Apple’s Weather app | TechCrunch https://t.co/kfOAXzUMbc
— SMC | LA (@smcla) July 3, 2024
Claims and Counterclaims
Andy Allen took to X (formerly Twitter) accusing Figma of heavily training their AI tool on existing apps. Nevertheless, CEO Dylan Field denied these allegations almost immediately.
He said that the AI wasn’t trained on any Figma content or community files or even App designs but rather used underlying systems for designing which has caused this problem.
However, people had issues with the capability of the feature to generate UI layouts and components from text prompts. The aim behind “Make Design” was to help developers quickly draft ideas and explore design directions.
However, when it started looking too much like Apple’s Weather app, questions about originality, as well as ethics, were raised concerning its outputs.
Oversights in Quality Assurance
Indeed, a hurry to get new features of AI launched into the market quickly before competitors do so may mean lower quality assurance standards.
This admission by Field came after he had taken full responsibility for what happened since they overlooked some important steps while doing necessary QA work during the development process because everything was moving very fast in this industry where change happens within days if not hours sometimes.
“In other words, the accusations around data training in this tweet are false,” Field said. The problem was identified hours after Allen’s tweet and attributed to low variability in the design systems used.
Reactions From the Industry and What This Means For the Future
The controversy around the Figma AI tool has sparked wider conversations among designers themselves.
Some argue that such tools could democratize digital design by replacing humans with machines. Others believe that repetitive tasks can be eliminated using this technology thus freeing up space for more creative work from designers.
Allen warning fellow developers about legal problems that might arise due to their use of outputs generated by these AIs has heightened fears among people who were already worried about copyrights etc.
They should also ensure they either heavily modify these designs or thoroughly check existing ones before incorporating any part thereof into new apps in order not to infringe someone’s rights unintentionally according to him.
Field’s explanation on X shows how much effort is being made not only to rectify but also to avoid similar issues again later on.
He revealed that large language models available off-the-shelf were used together with custom systems which resulted in low variability problems thus causing all those troubles experienced here today.
Figma will therefore re-enable the feature once it gains enough confidence that everything works as expected.
