AI generator Midjourney pauses service over deepfake 'abuse' / Photo: GLENN CHAPMAN - AFP
-
Iran claims aluminium plant attacks in Gulf as Houthis join war
-
North Korea's Kim oversees test of high-thrust engine: state media
-
Five Apple anecdotes as iPhone maker marks 50 years
-
'Excited' Buttler rejuvenated for IPL after horror T20 World Cup
-
Ship insurers juggle war risks for perilous Gulf route
-
Helplines buzz with alerts from seafarers trapped in war
-
Let's get physical: Singapore's seniors turn to parkour
-
Indian tile makers feel heat of Mideast war energy crunch
-
At 50, Apple confronts its next big challenge: AI
-
Houthis missile attacks on Israel widen Middle East war
-
Massive protests against Trump across US on 'No Kings' day
-
Struggling Force lament missed opportunities after Chiefs defeat
-
Lakers guard Doncic gets one-game ban for accumulated technicals
-
Houthis claim missile attacks on Israel, entering Middle East war
-
NBA Spurs stretch win streak to eight in rout of Bucks
-
US lose 5-2 to Belgium in rude awakening for World Cup hosts
-
Sabalenka sinks Gauff to win second straight Miami Open title
-
Lebanon kids struggle to keep up studies as war slams school doors shut
-
Cherry blossoms, kite-flying and 'No Kings' converge on Washington
-
Britain's Kerr to target El Guerrouj's mile world record
-
Sailboats carrying aid reach Cuba after going missing: AFP journalist
-
Pakistan to host Saudi, Turkey, Egypt for talks on Mideast war
-
Formidable Sinner faces Lehecka for second Miami Open title
-
Tuchel plays down Maguire's World Cup hopes
-
'Risky moment': Ukraine treads tightrope with Gulf arms deals
-
Japan strike late to win Scotland friendly
-
India great Ashwin joining San Francisco T20 franchise
-
Israel hits Iran naval research site, fresh blasts rattle Tehran
-
Kohli fires Bengaluru to big win after IPL remembers stampede dead
-
Graou shines as Toulouse sink Montpellier, Pau climb to second in Top 14
-
Vingegaard nears Tour of Catalonia victory with stage six win
-
Malinin bounces back from Olympic meltdown with third straight world skating gold
-
French police foil Paris bomb attack outside US bank
-
Senegal parade AFCON trophy at Stade de France, despite being stripped of title
-
Graou shines as Toulouse sink Montpellier to extend Top 14 lead
-
Anti-Trump protests launch on 'No Kings' day in US
-
Protesters rally in London against UK far-right rise
-
France foils Paris bomb attack outside US bank
-
Indian Premier League cricket season begins with silence to honour stampede dead
-
Missing Cuba-bound aid boats located, crew reported safe
-
Ignore our celebrations, we respect Bosnian team, says Italy's Dimarco
-
Case closed for Morocco despite Senegal Afcon outrage
-
22 migrants die off Greece after six days at sea: survivors
-
Henderson backs England's White after Wembley boos
-
Zelensky visits UAE, Qatar for air security talks with Gulf
-
Hollingsworth upsets Hunter Bell as Gout Gout fails to fire in Melbourne
-
Iran footballers pay tribute to victims of school strike
-
Questions over Israel's interceptor stockpiles as Mideast war drags on
-
Sweet heist? Nestle says 12 tonnes of KitKat stolen
-
Pope denounces widening gap between the rich and poor on Monaco visit
AI generator Midjourney pauses service over deepfake 'abuse'
Research laboratory Midjourney has paused free trials of its image-generation software after users cranked out realistic deepfakes including of former US president Donald Trump getting arrested and Pope Francis in a puffer jacket.
Midjourney responded to a request Thursday for a trial with a message saying it could not be provided and to try again another day.
The imagery created using the artificial intelligence platform, particularly those of Trump and the pontiff which went viral, have put a spotlight on the San Francisco-based lab.
"Due to a combination of extraordinary demand and trial abuse we are temporarily disabling free trials until we have our next improvements to the system deployed," Midjourney founder David Holz said in a post this week on the company's Discord channel.
The service generates realistic looking images based on written prompts made by users.
It launched in test mode in mid-2022, with the independent lab consistently upgrading the software.
Users have praised a freshly released version of Midjourney for improved realism in produced images.
Along with putting the brakes on new free trials, Midjourney banned certain words, such as "arrested," from being used to prompt image creation.
On Thursday Midjourney denied a request by AFP to generate an image of the former president being arrested in front of Trump Tower in New York.
"The word 'arrested' is banned," a message from Midjourney stated.
"Circumventing this filter to violate our rules may result in your access being revoked."
Billionaire mogul and Twitter owner Elon Musk and a range of experts called on Wednesday for a pause in the development of powerful artificial intelligence systems to allow time to make sure they are safe.
An open letter, signed by more than 1,000 people so far including Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, was prompted by the release of artificial intelligence platform GPT-4 from Microsoft-backed firm OpenAI.
Canadian AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio, who signed the letter, warned during a virtual press conference in Montreal that "society is not ready" for this powerful tool, and its possible misuses.
"Let's slow down. Let's make sure that we develop better guardrails," he said.
T.Batista--PC
