This Eid, I received a digital gift from Saif Al Bahri (a young boy still studying in school). The gift was an anime photo (cartoon like style) representation of myself. Furthermore, I realized that every Eid, the social media feeds (be it Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Snapchat) are filled with usual festive photos posted of individuals and/or with their families in Eid outfits, gatherings, food and activities etc. This Eid, however, the social media feeds were on fire with the anime photos of the same representation. You would have definitely noticed this and wondered what is it, how can you make one for yourself, yet probably are not aware of the danger that one may face as a consequence of using the same. Welcome to ChatGPT’s new model (feature) that is making the rounds in the Sultanate already. My article this week is to explain what is it, how it works and what you should be worried about.
What’s the fuss? Almost everyone (friends, family, colleagues, influencers, etc) has been sharing an animated/artistic/cartoonish photos of themselves. These photos resembled Ghibli-style images (hand-drawn characters of animated movies). I personally received mine from Saif, the very young talented boy. You too by now have either created one for yourself, or may have received one as I did too. Question: How does it work?
OpenAI’s (the company behind and creator of ChatGPT) has recently introduced a new feature that lets users easily create these anime/cartoon style images. What you need to do is simply just upload a photo (new or from your mobile phone/tablet gallery) into ChatGPT, for it to do the magic for you, in just as little as few seconds. ChatGPT uses its new model to transform any photo into the anime style image. Open ChatGPT app (or access the same via the web), click upload image, and then type something like “turn this picture into anime style” onto the prompt window when you upload the image. Within seconds, you will get the image created for you. It looks nice, it looks funny and indeed can be very addictive. Ask my little friend Saif who has probably by now created anime-style images for the whole family members.
What makes it special? First, it’s new and like any interesting thing, it has also become trendy. Secondly, it is too easy to create/have (as I had shared the steps above). Alternatively, it would take time, effort and also money for a creative artist to create one for you. Third, it is free and instant (as of my article today). Lastly, it may be the very reason to find many people change their digital profile photo on social media networks and/or even starting putting one as a profile-photo. But what’s the problem?
I continue to believe that there is literally no such thing as free on the information superhighway (the Internet). We are all a product of the solutions and applications provided (I will write more on that in my future articles). For this specific feature, the problem lies with your privacy. When you or others upload personal photos onto the AI platform, are you not wondering or worried where this data may be stored and consequently used? Furthermore, what about the ethical part of the same – using the images and imitating arts such as of the popular Japanese studio firm (Ghibli). What about preserving art and all the artists out there whom use real creativity, what is their fate now? These all are some of the things to ponder about, while supporting and using such a feature. Your personal and family photos may be used in a wrong way. Be careful.
Truth be told, ChatGPT’s new feature is intriguing and one cannot deny it is also not magical. The creative output you get from your real photo is amazing. Nevertheless, the ethical, privacy and impact this new AI feature has in store is very concerning. My recommendation is to use wisely and with extreme caution. Time will tell how the AI revolution may impact our lives positively or negative. Until then, stay safe and continue exploring.
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