Image V2: You. Are. Not. Ready. 🤯

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Right then, so OpenAI, bless their cotton socks, apparently unleashed some sort of image-generating gizmo, Version 1.0, which, by all accounts, went down a storm. A proper hullabaloo, I tell you. And now, Sam Altman, the head honcho over there, has cheekily hinted at Image Version 2.0. One shudders to think what that might entail.

He dropped this bombshell, mind you, on X, formerly Twitter, a platform I still haven’t quite got my head around. He proclaims, with what I can only assume is a glint in his eye, “Y’all are not ready for images v2…” Oh, really, Sam? Are we ever truly ready for anything?

Apparently, this GPT-4o thingy – and frankly, the names alone are enough to make one reach for a stiff drink – can now understand language and images. Fancy that! It’s creating pictures with text, symbols, and diagrams. The sheer audacity!

And here’s the kicker: someone, somewhere, thought it would be a jolly good idea to let it churn out “Ghibli Art.” Ghibli, as in the Studio Ghibli, the masters of animation. Suddenly, everyone and their dog are transforming their selfies into something that looks like it came straight out of My Neighbor Totoro. Celebrities, sports personalities, even your Aunt Mildred – all queuing up to pay for the Ghibli treatment. The mind boggles. 🤪

Of course, this whirlwind of artistic endeavour hasn’t been without its snags. Seems their GPUs – those little silicon chips that do all the heavy lifting – started to, shall we say, spontaneously combust. Altman, in a fit of responsibility, had to put the brakes on, citing “overwhelming demand for Ghibli.” You don’t say. 🙄

But, as is always the case, some folks are less than impressed. Artists, bless their creative hearts, are up in arms. Seems this whole AI art business has ruffled a few feathers, and sparked a few controversies. Quelle surprise! 🤔

Hayao Miyazaki himself, the legend, the myth, the man who practically is Studio Ghibli, was, shall we say, unimpressed. Apparently, he called AI-generated animation “an insult to life” a couple of years back. Can’t say I blame him, really. Seems a bit like teaching a robot to bake a soufflé – technically possible, but utterly soulless. 🤖

And now, more recently, the artistic community has been voicing its… displeasure. Words like “insult” and “degradation” are being bandied about. Strong stuff, indeed. 🤔

Still, despite all the artistic angst, the masses are apparently itching for Image Version 2. The big question, of course, is what will it do? Will it start churning out entire animated films? Will it learn to make tea and toast? Only time, and OpenAI, will tell. 🤷‍♂️

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2025-04-02 14:29