Backlash is mounting online over the latest viral AI trend: the AI caricature.
AI caricature is the first big ChatGPT trend of the year. It involves using ChatGPT to create images of ourselves based on things like our job, family and generally what ChatGPT knows about us.
And while many social media users have flocked to participate in the trend, others aren't so sure, and backlash has mounted online, with social media users raising concerns about the privacy implications and environmental impact of AI.
Newsweek has contacted OpenAI, ChatGPT's parent company, outside normal business hours via email for comment.
The rise of generative AI technologies is quickly reshaping the world and people are divided when it comes to this emerging tech. Some have expressed excitement around the potential benefits, while others have voiced a multitude of concerns.
Key to those concerns is the environmental impact of AI. A paper from a group of academics from UC Riverside and UT Arlington estimated that AI-related infrastructure could soon consume more water than the entirety of Denmark, a country of 6 million.
Using AI also consumes more energy than using standard search engines. For example, a request made through ChatGPT consumes 10 times the electricity of a Google Search, according to the International Energy Agency.
As people become increasingly aware of the potential negative impacts of using AI, it becomes increasingly derided online. Criticism of AI has become a staple of red-carpet interviews, with the likes of Hudson Williams and Jacob Elordi expressing their distaste for AI, and its usage is fast becoming a shorthand for negativity or stupidity on the internet.
The caricature trend involves using prompts like "create a caricature of me and my job based on everything you know about me," and from there, users will receive illustrated caricatures of themselves.
And while many people have gleefully shared their caricatures, others have criticized the trend. DJ and producer Sasha Kalra wrote in a satirical TikTok viewed more than 1.5 million times: "no babe i think it's so cool that you posted an AI-generated caricature of yourself to your story and it was so realistic because you've told the AI tool so much about yourself! that's awesome."
One social media user responded to the post in a comment liked more than 14,000 times: "Why is no one embarrassed using it." Social media user @ickidfamous wrote on X that they are "unfollowing everyone i see doing this on Instagram," in a post viewed more than 290,000 times.
Blogger Teewatterss, meanwhile, wrote in a post on Threads: "burning the earth to make AI-generated cartoons and fake photos has to be the dumbest time to be alive."
Writer Remy W. Anders shared a cautionary video about engaging with the trend on Instagram in a reel that had the text overlay "Don't be an AI Charicature," which has been viewed 7.5 million times as of reporting.
That reel raised concerns about data ownership, as did the creator X on TikTok. "How does ChatGPT know so much about y'all?" she said in a video viewed more than 60,000 times that had the text overlay "This ChatGPT cartoon stuff not scary to y'all?"
As concerns about data go, there are safeguards around it, and Data Controls show users how ChatGPT uses conversations. Users can also turn off Memory, which will stop the AI tool from remembering key details from previous conversations.
Selina Bets, a conservation biologist, in a post on Instagram liked more than 13,000 times: "Its been really disappointing seeing so many people jump on this trend. Especially those who should know better. It isnt a trend. It's a data mining exercise created by open AI. This has so many knock-on effects...ecological + environmental with increasing electricity costs and drinking water consumption,infringement of data privacy laws ON TOP of COUNTLESS copyright infringements issues from artists whose work is being stolen from by the AI to make these images.I really thought we would think twice about this."
Social media @shann0nf0rd,on X:"Imagine expecting artists to work for free,god I hate AI!"
@MrMekzy_,a pharmacist,in a post on X viewed more than 8 million times:"Go to ChatGPT and use this prompt:Create a caricature of me and my job based on everything you know about me.Come back and share your photo:I'll go first."
The trend and the tempestuous responses online are indicative of the broader tensions as emerging AI technologies continue to change and impact society.