Midjourney, AI that created pope montage, ends test – 03/30/2023 – Market

The artificial intelligence that generates images Midjourney interrupted the free tests it offered, on the morning of Tuesday (28). The announcement was made by the founder of the platform David Holz, in a channel on the Discord chat site.

Holz says the measure was motivated by the high demand for the technology and the abusive behavior of some users. Over the past week, fake images of Pope Francis wearing a white inflatable jacket and imprisoned former US President Donald Trump have been a hit on social media.

Midjourney’s decision was first reported by The Washington Post.

Until Tuesday (28), Midjourney offered newly registered users the opportunity to generate 25 images at no cost. To create more, it was necessary to pay a monthly fee of US$ 10 (R$ 51.25).

On March 15, the platform underwent an update that improved people imaging. Until then, deformed hands were characteristic of fake portraits delivered by artificial intelligence. The realism of the overcoat pontiff showed the evolution of technology.

In addition to fake images of Trump and the Pope, realistic imitations of French President Emmanuel Macon walking through protests against pension reform in Paris and of Elon Musk holding hands with Democratic politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also went viral, according to the website of Verge technology.

With the popularization of new artificial intelligence resources, experts have warned about the risk of using this technology to spread misinformation.

According to the Midjourney CEO’s announcement, free trials can resume once the system goes through the necessary tweaks.