The latest internet obsession is one impossible to escape on social media: images of well-known figures in plastic toy packaging, alongside evocative props... welcome to the meme of AI action figures.
The figurines aren't real, but thanks to ChatGPT's new image generator, they look genuine, and they are flooding platforms from TikTok to LinkedIn.
On these platforms, you'll see a "toy" image of football star Lionel Messi, accompanied by a ball and trophies, or a caricature of US President Donald Trump with a MAGA cap and a sign reading "tariffs."
Some celebrities have also created versions of themselves. For instance, actor Brooke Shields posted a doll version of herself with a miniature dog and needlepoint kit to her 2.5 million Instagram followers.
Many ordinary users have done likewise, posting packaged images of themselves as figurines after inputting photos of themselves into ChatGPT's image generator.
While pervasive and, in most cases, fun, the trend raises questions about copyright and the potential risks of handing biometric data over to a generative AI company.
ChatGPT does the rendering for free, but users are required to sign up for the imaging platform, adding to OpenAI's renown as a leader in consumer uses of artificial intelligence—and also for collecting massive amounts of user data.
Anaïs Loubere, an expert on social media and founder of the agency Digital Pipelettes, said the boom is riding on a "technological breakthrough" in AI image rendering.
Before the action figure meme, AI artwork inspired by famed Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli—the maker of the Oscar-winning Spirited Away—flooded the internet at the end of March, posted by users subscribed to OpenAI's paid service.
Ahlem Abidi-Barthe, an online marketing professor, told AFP that the key to the success of these trends is their ability to be in personalized formats.
"That tickles the egos of consumers," she said.
The Ghibli and action-figure memes also tap into childhood nostalgia, "which contributes to extreme virality."
OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, boasted that the company gained a million new users "in the last hour" once its imaging service became free.
In March, ChatGPT became the most downloaded app in the world, overtaking TikTok and Instagram, according to data analysis firm Appfigures.
Copyright Issues
However, human artists are protesting the AI copying of their works without payment or credit. OpenAI, for example, had no license from Studio Ghibli.
Several generative AI companies, including OpenAI, are being sued for copyright infringement in the United States, but to date, no judgment has been made.
The AI companies insist they are abiding by relevant laws but refuse to disclose what works have been ingested into their training libraries.
"Behind the magic," there are also "environmental costs," as French astronaut Thomas Pesquet has pointed out.
Each ChatGPT prompt for text output uses 2.9 Wh of electricity, or 10 times what a Google search uses, according to the International Energy Agency. And image generation requires even more.
Then, there is the risk posed by users uploading photos of themselves—and perhaps people close to them or acquaintances—along with other personal data.
"When people upload selfies or prompts to these AI generators, they're essentially handing over personal data to companies with unclear intentions. Your image is data, and data has value," said Joe Davies, a tech expert at the British SEO agency FatJoe.
The AI action figure meme will certainly fizzle out, predicted Loubere.
"These trends aren't meant to last. By the time you see the 50th AI action figure on LinkedIn or Instagram, you know it's saturated," she said.
With AFP
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