OpenAI hastily discontinued its free photo creation feature due to the Ghibli craze.

According to Digital Trends , just one day after launching its powerful new image creation feature incorporating the GPT-4o model, OpenAI unexpectedly announced it would temporarily suspend the free ChatGPT service for users. This abrupt decision came after a trend of creating images in the style of the famous Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli spread rapidly on social media, raising legal and ethical questions.

The Ghibli animation trend has prompted OpenAI to change its strategy.

The latest update to the image generator in ChatGPT, powered by the GPT-40 inference model, promises high image fidelity and, in particular, the ability to display sharp, coherent text within images – a significant improvement over previous models.

However, the online community quickly transformed this feature into a creative "playground" in the style of Studio Ghibli. A series of images in this classic animation style were created and widely shared, ranging from portraits and family photos to reenactments of scenes from the Paris 2024 Olympics , famous movie scenes like The Godfather or Star Wars , and even familiar memes.

The trend of creating free Studio Ghibli images is causing concern for OpenAI.

PHOTO: SCREENSHOT FROM ITVOICE

Notably, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman initially seemed enthusiastic about changing his profile picture on social media platform X to a Ghibli-style image of himself. However, he soon announced the decision to temporarily postpone the rollout of this image creation feature for free ChatGPT users "at the present time." He did not provide information on when the feature might return. Currently, users of paid plans such as Plus, Pro, and Team can still use the feature.

This incident has once again sparked ongoing debates surrounding the ethical and legal aspects of AI generation. According to intellectual property lawyer Evan Brown (of the law firm Neal & McDevitt), mimicking the style of a studio like Studio Ghibli isn't necessarily a direct copyright infringement, as copyright law doesn't explicitly protect 'style'. However, it still falls within a complex legal 'grey area'.

OpenAI also stated that its tool can mimic the style of a film studio, but not the style of a specific individual artist. The move to temporarily suspend the free image generation feature is seen as OpenAI's cautious response to potential risks while seeking a more suitable solution.

This situation is not new. In late 2023, the trend of creating Funko Pop! characters using Microsoft's AI also became popular, but at the same time revealed legal limitations when users tried to create images of celebrities, forcing them to use 'tricks' involving commands to circumvent the law.

OpenAI's swift response highlights the major challenge tech companies face when launching powerful AI tools: how to balance fostering user creativity with controlling unintended consequences regarding copyright, ethics, and technology misuse.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/openai-voi-ngung-tinh-nang-tao-anh-mien-phi-vi-bao-trao-luu-ghibli-185250328090730311.htm