Ghibli trend: Sam Altman urges ChatGPT users to reduce image requests

New Delhi: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has urged users to reduce their usage of ChatGPT’s new image generation feature due to overwhelming demand. On social media platform X, he posted, "Can y'all please chill on generating images this is insane our team needs sleep (sic)." Despite this request, many users were not convinced, with some suggesting that Altman should fire his team.

In response to one such post, Altman defended his team, highlighting their achievements. "No thanks. In addition to building AGI, this team is on atrajectory to build the biggest website in the world from a cold start 2.33 years ago," Altman replied.

On March 25, OpenAI introduced its latest AI-powered image generator integrated into ChatGPT’s GPT-4o model. This feature enables users to refine images iteratively and maintain consistency across multiple edits. Since its launch, there has been a surge in user engagement, with many experimenting with various artistic styles, including Studio Ghibli. The new image generation feature has become particularly popular for creating visuals in the style of Ghibli, allowing users to transform images into iconic animated styles.

However, the rapid uptake has placed considerable strain on OpenAI’s infrastructure, and Altman acknowledged the situation by saying, "It’s super fun seeing people love images in ChatGPT, but our GPUs are melting." To address the high demand, OpenAI plans to implement temporary rate limits. The free version of ChatGPT will soon allow only three image generations per day.

The new image generation feature, unlike previous AI-generated art tools like OpenAI’s DALL-E, is built directly into ChatGPT-4o. Users can create images seamlessly with text prompts, specifying details like aspect ratio, colour schemes, and transparent backgrounds. Additionally, the model can learn from uploaded images to enhance its output. OpenAI explained that its models have been trained on an extensive collection of online images and text, enabling them to understand not only how images relate to language but also how they connect to each other.

Due to copyright concerns, OpenAI has also restricted the generation of images in the style of certain living artists and studios, including Studio Ghibli.

Altman assured users that these restrictions are temporary as the company works to improve efficiency and better manage the surging demand.

With IANS inputs