Figma disables its new AI tool following accusations of stealing the Apple Weather interface
Figma's new tool, Make Designs, enabled users to rapidly prototype applications using generative artificial intelligence. However, it has now been withdrawn after the tool generated projects that closely resembled Apple's iOS Weather app.
Figma has temporarily disabled its new AI-driven design creation tool, Make Design, after it "created" a replica of Apple's Weather app interface, CEO and co-founder Dylan Field announced.
The decision was made after Andy Allen, CEO and co-founder of Not Boring Software, shared X images showing that Make Designs generated several app designs that closely resembled Apple's standard iOS Weather app when asked to create a "weather app."
Figma AI looks rather heavily trained on existing apps.
— Andy Allen (@asallen) July 1, 2024
This is a "weather app" using the new Make Designs feature and the results are basically Apple's Weather app (left). Tried three times, same results. https://t.co/Ij20OpPCer pic.twitter.com/psFTV6daVD
Іn response to Allen's accusations, Dylan Field explained that Make Designs uses pre-trained large language models combined with "systems that we've commissioned to use these models." According to him, the issue with this approach lies in the low variability it offers.
Field acknowledged that in the rush to launch new AI features aimed at enhancing the company's competitiveness, the quality assurance (QA) process was overlooked. He also announced that Figma will temporarily disable Make Designs until the team is confident that its outputs do not replicate existing interfaces and designs. The feature will remain disabled until a thorough quality check of the underlying design system is completed.
