Figma pulls AI tool after criticism that it ripped off Apple’s design

Figma’s caller instrumentality Make Designs lets users rapidly mock up apps utilizing generative AI. Now, it’s getting delayed aft the instrumentality drafted designs that looked strikingly akin to Apple’s iOS upwind app. Figma CEO Dylan Field posted a thread connected X aboriginal Tuesday greeting detailing the delay, putting the blasted connected himself for pushing the squad to conscionable a deadline, and defending the company’s attack to processing its AI tools.

In posts on X, Andy Allen, CEO of Not Boring Software, showed conscionable however intimately Figma’s Make Designs instrumentality made near-replicas of Apple’s upwind app. “Just a heads up to immoderate designers utilizing the caller Make Designs diagnostic that you whitethorn privation to thoroughly cheque existing apps oregon modify the results heavy truthful that you don’t unknowingly onshore yourself successful ineligible trouble,” Allen wrote.

In a Tuesday interrogation with Figma CTO Kris Rasmussen, I asked him constituent blank if Make Designs was trained connected Apple’s app designs. His response? He couldn’t accidental for sure. Figma was not liable for grooming the AI models it utilized astatine all.

“We did nary grooming arsenic portion of the generative AI features,” Rasmussen said. The features are “powered by off-the-shelf models and a bespoke plan strategy that we commissioned, which appears to beryllium the underlying issue.”

That mostly matches thing helium said connected Monday connected X successful effect to a idiosyncratic who suggested Make Designs was trained connected existing apps. “As we shared erstwhile we launched Figma AI past week, determination was nary grooming arsenic portion of this diagnostic oregon immoderate of our generative features,” he wrote. “We are looking into what grade the similarities are a relation of the 3rd enactment models we are utilizing vs. the plan systems we commissioned to beryllium utilized by the models and we volition code arsenic needed.”

Field, successful his ain thread, said that the Make Designs diagnostic “is not trained connected Figma content, assemblage files oregon app designs” and noted that “the accusations astir information grooming successful this tweet are false.” He said a occupation with the company’s attack is that “variability is excessively low.”

The cardinal AI models that powerfulness Make Designs are OpenAI’s GPT-4o and Amazon’s Titan Image Generator G1, according to Rasmussen. If it’s existent that Figma didn’t bid its AI tools but they’re spitting retired Apple app lookalikes anyway, that could suggest that OpenAI oregon Amazon’s models were trained connected Apple’s designs. OpenAI and Amazon didn’t instantly reply to a petition for comment.

Rasmussen argued that Figma didn’t privation to bash immoderate grooming to amended its features until it was unfastened with its users astir its AI grooming policies, which it besides introduced past week. As portion of those policies, users person until August 15th to determine if they privation to opt successful oregon retired of allowing their contented to beryllium utilized for Figma’s training. (Starter and Professional plans are opted successful by default, portion Organization and Enterprise plans are opted retired by default.)

I asked if Figma is readying connected grooming its ain models — which, fixed the company’s new AI grooming policies, seems similar thing that’s going to happen. “We decidedly spot opportunities to truly cleanable your plan workflows by teaching these models however to plan successful the discourse of Figma,” Rasmussen said. However, “we’re going to beryllium taking steps to guarantee that our ain models oregon immoderate fine-tuning we bash with unfastened root models lone larn wide plan patterns and circumstantial Figma plan concepts truthful that they tin beryllium amended tools for nonrecreational designers.”

I besides asked Rasmussen however Figma plans to hole its processes to drawback imaginable issues successful the future. “We’re doing a walk implicit the bespoke plan strategy to guarantee that it has capable saltation and meets our prime standards,” helium said. “That’s the basal origin of the issue. But we’re going to instrumentality further precautions earlier we re-enable [Make Designs] to marque definite that the full diagnostic meets our prime standards and is accordant with our values.”

Rasmussen besides pointed to the information that Make Designs is successful beta. “Betas, by definition, are not perfect. But it’s harmless to say, arsenic Dylan shared successful his tweet, that we simply didn’t drawback this peculiar issue. And we should have.”

Rasmussen said Figma expects to re-enable Make Designs “soon.” Other Figma AI features volition proceed to beryllium disposable successful beta. (To entree immoderate of Figma’s AI features, you person to motion up for a waitlist.)