Chatgpt: Openai Suspend Gpt-4o after a tidal wave of Ghibli images

History had everything of a modern tale: a latest artificial intelligence, a hint of nostalgia, and a pinch of visual magic. In a few hours, the new image generation function in Chatgpt – powered by the model GPT-4O – Flamed the networks. The style? The inimitable that of Ghibli studio. The result? A viral wave that even Openai had not anticipated … and that she had to interrupt without delay.

Ghibli too viral on Chatgpt: OpenAi deactivates GPT-4O for free accounts

Available Barely one day for free accountsthe functionality has seen a myriad of creations flow: families transformed into characters straight out of Princess Mononokécult cinema scenes reinterpreted Totoroor diversion of popular memes, all bathed in this sweet and dreamlike paw specific to the Japanese studio. A massive, joyful, but legally sensitive appropriation.

Even Sam Altman, CEO of Openai, did not resist the trend. On X, he briefly changed his profile photo for a hero-like version of Ghibli film, before commenting on the situation with his usual humor:

“” Be me: work ten years to create a superintendent supposed to heal cancer or something like it. Nobody is interested in it for seven and a half years, then I get hated for everything for two and a half years. And one morning, I wake up with hundreds of messages: “Look, I transformed you into a handsome Ghibli kid all smiling haha.” »»

But fun turned short: in the process, Altman announced that the functionality would be paused for the free accounts of Chatgpt, without specifying when – or if – she would return.

Basically, this reversal poses a question that tech continues to repel: where does creativity ends, where does counterfeit begin? Because if the law does not protect the artistic style in itself, it is not a white area. The vagueness is real, and Openai seems to prefer prudence to case law.

It must be said that GPT-4O technically impresses. Its so-called “self-regressive” approach makes it possible to generate images in a fluid way, with a clear text-where the old models were content with approximation and typographic fog. This realism, combined with the virality of networks, forms a cocktail as fascinating as it is difficult to frame.

Openai did not only rely on pause: the company felt, in real time, how the collective imagination can get carried away in the face of such a powerful tool. Behind the cute images, there are questions that bite – on the property of styles, creative responsibility, or simply the limits of the game. And for once, the machine was not too fast. It was the humans who took it speed.

Ironically, subscribers to paid versions of Chatgpt can always generate this type of images with GPT-4O.