ChatGPT Downloads Soar by 11% as New AI Art Feature Captivates Users

OpenAI's ChatGPT hit a record high with more than 150 million weekly active users, showing a 5 percent growth compared to the prior week. This achievement came after a significant boost in interest due to the introduction of their novel image-generation feature, which enabled users to produce artwork inspired by Studio Ghibli’s aesthetic. The release of the GPT-4o model update introduced these image-generating abilities, igniting creative endeavors globally.

"One million new users joined us within the past hour," stated Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. He mentioned that it had taken about five days for ChatGPT to achieve a comparable user count when first launched. "We're pushing hard to make everything run smoothly; if you have access to GPU capacity in increments of at least 100k, please contact us right away," Altman concluded.

The popularity of creating Studio Ghibli-style AI artwork led users to post pictures on social platforms that mimicked the studio’s distinctive hand-drawn aesthetic, famous for movies like "Spirited Away" and "MyNeighbor Totoro." This surge resulted in an 11 percent boost in global app downloads along with a 6 percent increase in in-app subscription earnings relative to the prior week.

The increase in usage has stretched the platform’s capabilities to their boundaries. Frequent utilization of the image-generation tool resulted in significant server stress, causing sporadic outages, periodic bugs, and temporary restrictions on this functionality. According to Greg Brockman, co-founder of OpenAI, “While we’re working to get everything stabilized, anticipate delays in upcoming releases from OpenAI, potential issues cropping up, and periods where services might run slowly due to our ongoing capacity constraints.”

The artwork generated with the help of an AI tool ignited a discussion around issues of copyright and artistic authenticity. The application of this technology to create images mimicking Studio Ghibli’s distinct aesthetic prompted concerns regarding possible breaches of copyright, as specialists clarified that current laws safeguard particular expressions instead of broader artistic styles. "There is ambiguity when it comes to the legal framework surrounding AI-created imagery that mirrors Studio Ghibli's recognizable style; typically, copyright legislation defends individual expressions rather than stylistic approaches,” stated Evan Brown, who works as a partner at Neal & McDevitt.

“I feel completely repulsed,” stated Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of Studio Ghibli, following his review of an initial rendering from artificial intelligence-generated imagery. He further commented, “There’s absolutely no way I’d want to include such technology in my projects.”

The piece was crafted with help from a news analysis tool.