AI image generation tool Midjourney suspends free version due to excessive access

Midjourney free version suspended

AI image generation tool Midjourney suspended access to its free trial on the 28th after a surge in new users and abuse of the free trial.

Initially, the decision was suspected to be related to the deepfake images that went viral, but David Holz, CEO of independent research firm Midjourney, said the services offered to users in the free trial had nothing to do with the deepfake images in question. said.

According to Holz, the direct reason for the suspension of the free version was that the paid version service went down while the free trial was flooded with access.

The politically sensitive threat of deepfake images is still under review, and Midjourney plans to improve its monitoring policies.

Image generation by free users is not allowed at the time of writing, but that may change in the future. Midjourney’s paid plans range from $10 to $60 per month, depending on the processing power and features you want, and there are annual subscription plans.

connection:“GM Radio” Next time, the decentralized AI project “SingularityNET” will participate

What is a deepfake image?

A deepfake image is a fake image or video created using AI (artificial intelligence) technology. Imitate a real person or object realistically, and fabricate its appearance, movement, and remarks.

Midjourney (V5) is a software service that allows you to create photorealistic images with only text prompts (instructions). Since the paid version offers higher-performance functions that reproduce lighting, texture of textures, and detailed expressions of hands, many users have created images of celebrities and celebrities.

As a result, over the weekend, a fake image created in Midjourney purporting to be “the pope in white down” spread on Twitter. Pope Francis (86 years old) of the Roman Catholic Church wearing a necklace decorated with diamonds had a strong impact and collected millions of PV (page views).

In addition, as rumors spread that former U.S. President Donald Trump would be arrested in connection with the suspicion of paying hush money to his dating partner, there is a real-life image that captures the moment the former president was arrested on the web. Fake images spread. Journalist Eliot Higgins, who created the image, said his account was banned by Midjourney.

Making pictures of Trump getting arrested while waiting for Trump’s arrest. pic.twitter.com/4D2QQfUpLZ

— Eliot Higgins (@EliotHiggins) March 20, 2023

Deepfakes are at increasing risk of being used for malicious purposes, such as spreading disinformation, damaging reputations, and manipulating politics. Many generative AI sites, including Midjourney (DALL E2, Playground AI), place restrictions on prompts containing sexual words.

However, in order to solve the ethical problem of deepfakes, multifaceted measures such as regulation of technology, formulation of guidelines for use, development of digital watermarking technology to identify deepfakes, and introduction of general awareness and education programs are necessary. approach is required.

On the 29th, an online signature campaign was launched asking all research institutes to suspend the development of next-generation AI systems that are more powerful than the AI ​​language model “GPT-4” released by OpenAI in the United States for six months.

An open letter published by the non-profit Future of Life Institute states that, in consideration of the risks that the development of AI models poses to human society, we should establish a governance system to deal with the risks while building a monitoring and regulatory system. Claimed. It has been signed by prominent figures including Tesla founder Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

connection:Elon Musk, AI researchers call for a pause in next-generation AI model development

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