Figma AI: A Promising Tool with Controversial Issues

The world of design, like everything around us, is constantly evolving, and design interfaces do not want to be left behind in the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Figma, one of the most popular design tools today, has not been left behind. Although they had already experimented with implementing text generation and retouching with AI, this time they tried to go a step further with a tool that promised to save designers thousands of hours in creating interfaces.

What is (or was) Figma AI?

Figma AI, named by users but formally called "Make Design", used machine learning to assist designers in various tasks. From generating an initial design to serve as a basis for work, to analyzing a final or advanced design and suggesting improvements in the color palette, typography, distribution of elements and other aspects.

It could also automate repetitive tasks such as resizing images, creating icons or applying uniform styles, saving time and effort. In addition to this, find images, icons and fonts that fit the style of the project, eliminating the need for tedious searches.

Benefits promised by Figma AI

AI promised to open up new creative possibilities, boosting the exploration of ideas and innovative solutions The designs we saw in the beta version tend to be more consistent, polished and visually attractive thanks to AI suggestions. In addition, Figma AI tools were designed to be intuitive and accessible, even for users without prior experience in AI.

However, when users started testing they began to see some similarities between the work generated by AI and designs from other applications ...

Figma AI designs a "not boring weather app" pic.twitter.com/2A6xD3yzIs

— Andy Allen (@asallen) July 1, 2024

What happened? Why did Figma's AI fall before it took off?

1. Plagiarism: When using the Beta version, users discovered that Figma's AI could generate designs that were very similar to existing designs, particularly from popular applications such as Apple's weather interface. This raised serious concerns about the originality and ethics of using AI in design.

2. Lack of transparency: Figma did not provide clear information about how its AI worked or about the data used to train its models. This lack of transparency generated mistrust among users, who did not know how their data was being used and how reliable the AI results were.

As a result of these controversies, Figma decided to withdraw the AI features until it could properly address the concerns about plagiarism and transparency. The company has expressed its commitment to developing responsible and ethical AI for design, but has not yet announced a date for the relaunch of AI features.

(3) Within hours of seeing this tweet, we identified the issue, which was related to the underlying design systems that were created. Ultimately it is my fault for not insisting on a better QA process for this work and pushing our team hard to hit a deadline for Config.

— Dylan Field (@zoink) July 2, 2024

What do the Geeks think about Figma AI

The first impressions of our designers about Figma AI have been generally positive and highlight its ability to streamline work, generate creative ideas and improve the quality of designs. However, the issue of where the data used to train AI comes from remains a concern for artists, designers and even programmers who do not want their work to be used without their permission.

Despite this setback, it is important to note that AI is still an active research area in the field of interface design. And with proper QA and development, it is likely that we will see the return of AI to Figma in the future, but with more solid measures to prevent plagiarism and ensure transparency.