OpenAI hastily stopped its free image creation feature due to the Ghibli trend storm

According to Digital Trends , just one day after launching a powerful new image generation feature that integrates the GPT-4o model, OpenAI suddenly announced that it would temporarily stop providing it for free to ChatGPT users. This sudden decision was made after a trend of creating images in the signature style of the famous Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli went viral on social media, raising legal and ethical questions.

Ghibli animation trend causes OpenAI to change strategy

The new update to the image generator in ChatGPT, powered by the GPT-4o inference model, promises to deliver high image fidelity and, in particular, the ability to render sharp, coherent text inside images — a significant improvement over previous models.

However, the online community quickly turned this feature into a creative 'playground' in the style of Studio Ghibli. A series of images in the style of this classic animation were born and widely shared, from portraits, personal family photos, reenactments of scenes from the 2024 Paris Olympics , famous movie scenes such as The Godfather or Star Wars , to familiar memes.

The trend of creating free Studio Ghibli images has OpenAI worried

PHOTO: ITVOICE SCREENSHOT

Notably, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman initially expressed interest in changing his profile picture on social network X to a Ghibli-style image of himself. However, he soon announced that he would be postponing the rollout of this photo-generating feature for free ChatGPT users "for now." He did not provide information on when the feature might return. Currently, users of paid plans such as Plus, Pro, and Team can continue to use this feature.

The incident has once again raised the already-existing debates surrounding the ethics and legality of generative AI. According to intellectual property attorney Evan Brown of the law firm Neal & McDevitt, copying the style of a studio like Studio Ghibli is not necessarily direct copyright infringement, as copyright law does not typically explicitly protect ‘style’. However, it still falls within a complex legal ‘gray area’.

OpenAI also said its tool can emulate the style of a film studio, but not the style of a specific individual artist. The move to pause the free image generation feature is seen as OpenAI's way of being cautious about potential risks while it searches for a more suitable solution.

This situation is not new. In late 2023, Microsoft's AI-powered Funko Pop! character creation trend also went viral but at the same time exposed legal limitations when users tried to create images of celebrities, forcing them to use command 'tricks' to circumvent the law.

OpenAI's swift response illustrates the big challenge tech companies face when rolling out powerful AI tools: how to balance fostering user creativity with managing unintended consequences around copyright, ethics, and misuse of technology.

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