Key Points
ChatGPT DAU surged 58% in March due to Ghibli-style AI images
Sam Altman's Ghibli avatar sparked global trend
OpenAI faces server strain and copyright concerns
GPT-4o enables iterative image refinement
ChatGPT's DAU reached a record 1.25 million as of last Thursday, up from 1.03 million on March 10 and 790,000 on March 1, according to the data from industry tracker IGAWorks.
The rapid growth came with OpenAI's new image-generation tool, which allows users to convert their photos into illustrations inspired by Studio Ghibli films, reports Yonhap news agency.
Founded by Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio behind famous films, such as "My Neighbor Totoro," "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Spirited Away."
The new image tool gained global attention after OpenAI Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sam Altman changed his profile picture on X, formerly Twitter, to a Ghibli-style version of himself, sparking a wave of user interest.
However, the surge in AI-generated animated images has raised copyright concerns and technological issues.
Altman said OpenAI plans to introduce rate limits on the feature, saying, "Our graphic processing units are melting."
In a post on social media platform X, he said: "Can yall please chill on generating images this is insane our team needs sleep (sic)".
Despite his appeal, many users were not convinced, with some even suggesting that he should fire his team. Responding to one such post, Altman defended his team, saying they had built one of the biggest websites in the world in just 2.33 years.
"No thanks. In addition to building AGI, this team is on trajectory to build the biggest website in the world from a cold start 2.33 years ago," Altman replied to the post.
On March 25, OpenAI introduced its newest AI-powered image generator, integrated with ChatGPT's GPT-4o model. This feature allows users to refine images iteratively and maintain consistency across multiple edits. Since its launch, there has been a surge in user engagement, with many experimenting by transforming images into various artistic styles, including Studio Ghibli.
