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Say cheese, AI! WhatsApp is testing an AI-generated profile picture feature
- WhatsApp’s latest beta for Android is testing an option for AI profile pictures.
- The feature would enable users to generate custom profile pictures based on text descriptions.
It seems like major tech companies are racing to inject their version of generative AI into every corner of our lives. We have AI that can write for us, take our calls for us, plan our trips for us, and who knows what else. Now, Meta’s AI wants to take on the last bastion of human expression we thought was safe from the AI takeover — our profile pictures.
This news comes courtesy of WABetaInfo, who found the feature in the latest WhatsApp beta for Android (2.24.11.17). Forget painstakingly selecting the perfect selfie or spending hours editing your photos to perfection. Soon, you will be able to simply describe the image you want, and the AI will whip up a custom profile picture just for you.
Honestly, the idea of having an AI-generated profile picture sounds a bit odd. Shouldn’t there be some resemblance to your actual face? After all, the point of a profile picture is to help people recognize you.
But based on the screenshot, it seems like this feature will work more like regular AI image generators — churning out everything from animated characters to fantastical landscapes based on text prompts instead of enhancing an existing photo of yours.
While this may sound like a privacy-conscious dream come true, it also raises the question of whether our WhatsApp chat lists will soon be populated by a cast of AI-generated characters straight out of a Pixar movie.
Nevertheless, the fact that it’s already showing up on the Android beta app is a strong sign that this feature could be rolled out to all WhatsApp users soon, including those on iOS.