Midjourney Nuked their Free Trial...

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5 Apr 202306:06

TLDRThe video discusses the impact of the AI art tool, Mid-Journey, which gained popularity for generating images from incoherent keywords. It highlights the tool's free trial cancellation on March 28, 2023, and speculates on the reasons behind it, including political image controversies and the exploitation of the free trial through multiple Discord accounts. The speaker also reveals a workaround to access more free generations by creating new Discord accounts and mentions the existence of a market for buying Discord tokens and accounts. The video concludes with a cynical view on the business model, suggesting that profit motives underlie the decision to discontinue the free trial.

Takeaways

  • 🌪️ The Discord bot 'mid-journey' gained popularity for generating impressive images from incoherent keywords.
  • 🔍 Users could generate images with themes like 'stained glass', 'Mosaic City', and 'Moonlight City'.
  • 🚫 On March 28th, 2023, mid-journey discontinued its free trial, leading to speculation about the reasons behind this decision.
  • 📰 The Washington Post published an in-depth article suggesting political AI-generated images might be the cause.
  • 🤔 Common misconceptions about the discontinuation were fueled by headlines and viral images like 'Trump getting arrested'.
  • 🎨 AI-generated images can be incredibly realistic, making it difficult for the average person to discern their authenticity.
  • 💡 The real reason for ending the free trial was to transition users to Mid-journey's premium plans after they exhausted their free generations.
  • 🔄 Users exploited the system by creating new Discord accounts to regain free trial credits.
  • 📈 The Verge reported that the暂停 of the free trial was due to the high volume of throwaway accounts created for this purpose.
  • 💸 Some users turned to gray markets to buy Discord tokens or bulk-generated accounts to continue getting free images.
  • 📊 Mid-journey's decision to cancel the free trial aimed to curb exploitation while capitalizing on the newfound interest in AI art.

Q & A

  • What is the primary function of the Discord bot mentioned in the transcript?

    -The Discord bot, mid-journey, allows users to generate incredible images by typing in incoherent keywords.

  • How did AI-generated images become popular on the internet?

    -AI-generated images gained popularity after being shared widely on the internet, featuring various subjects such as Pope Francis in a Balenciaga outfit and Donald Trump being arrested.

  • When did mid-journey's free trial end?

    -Mid-journey's free trial ended on March 28th, 2023.

  • What is a common misconception about why mid-journey's free trial was canceled?

    -A common misconception is that the free trial was canceled due to political images going viral, such as those of Trump being arrested and the Pope.

  • What is the actual reason behind the cancellation of mid-journey's free trial?

    -The actual reason for the cancellation was the exploitation of the free trial by users creating multiple Discord accounts to get unlimited free image generations, leading to financial losses for mid-journey.

  • How did mid-journey initially handle the issue of users exploiting the free trial?

    -Mid-journey initially tried to ignore the problem, hoping it would disappear, but this approach led to the cancellation of the free trial due to the increasing number of users exploiting the system.

  • What is the cost of Mid-journey's Premium plan after the free trial ends?

    -The Premium plan costs range from ten to sixty dollars per month, depending on the subscription tier.

  • How can users bypass the free trial limitations?

    -Users can bypass the limitations by creating new Discord accounts and using them to access the mid-journey server for additional free generations.

  • What is the issue with the AI-generated images that non-experts might miss?

    -Non-experts might miss the unrealistic details in AI-generated images, such as extra limbs, smeary effects on clothing, and other anomalies that are not immediately apparent.

  • How has mid-journey benefited from the viral images and tutorials?

    -Mid-journey has received free advertising from the viral images and tutorials, which has led to an influx of new users interested in AI art.

  • What is the speaker's opinion on companies providing AI for everyone?

    -The speaker believes that companies, including mid-journey, are more interested in profitability than in providing AI for everyone, and will prioritize business plans that generate more revenue.

Outlines

00:00

🤖 AI Art and Mid-Journey's Free Trial Cancellation

This paragraph discusses the impact of AI-generated art, particularly highlighting the Mid-Journey bot that allows users to create images from incoherent keywords. It mentions the bot's popularity and the controversy surrounding its free trial cancellation on March 28th, 2023. The speaker addresses misconceptions about the reason for the cancellation, debunking the theory that it was due to political images going viral. Instead, the speaker explains that the real reason was the exploitation of the free trial by users creating multiple Discord accounts to gain unlimited access, leading to financial losses for Mid-Journey. The paragraph also touches on the potential temporary nature of the free trial's cancellation and the speaker's personal experience with the platform.

05:00

💸 Mid-Journey's Business Strategy and User Exploit

The second paragraph delves into Mid-Journey's business strategy after the free trial cancellation, emphasizing the company's shift towards a subscription model to generate revenue. It discusses the unintended consequences of the free advertising from viral images and tutorials, which led to an influx of new users interested in AI art. The speaker contrasts this with the loss of the free trial, which was exploited by users creating multiple accounts for free access. The paragraph also explores the market for selling Discord tokens and accounts as a workaround to the free trial restriction. The speaker concludes by expressing a cynical view on the company's motto of 'AI for everyone' and suggests that the primary motivation is profit.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Mid-journey

Mid-journey refers to a Discord bot that has gained popularity for generating impressive images based on user-provided keywords. It has been used to create a variety of images, including those of political figures like Pope Francis and Donald Trump. The service became a viral sensation, but its free trial was discontinued on March 28th, 2023, leading to discussions about the reasons behind this decision and its implications for users.

💡Brain damage test

The brain damage test is a humorous reference made in the script to demonstrate the power of the AI in transforming incoherent keywords into coherent images. It serves as an example of the bot's capability to create meaningful outputs from seemingly random inputs.

💡AI-generated images

AI-generated images are visual outputs created by artificial intelligence algorithms based on user inputs. These images have become widespread on the internet, with examples ranging from political satire to artistic creations. The realism of these images can sometimes be so high that they are difficult to distinguish from real photographs.

💡Free trial cancellation

The free trial cancellation refers to Mid-journey's decision to stop offering a no-cost trial period for its services. This move was met with surprise and speculation, with some attributing it to the political nature of the AI-generated images. However, the actual reason was more related to the economic model and the exploitation of the free trial by users creating multiple accounts.

💡Discord accounts

Discord accounts are user profiles on the Discord platform, which is where the Mid-journey bot is hosted. The script discusses how users exploited the system by creating multiple Discord accounts to access more free trials of the Mid-journey service, leading to the bot's developers reconsidering their offering.

💡Premium plan

The Premium plan is a subscription-based service offered by Mid-journey after the discontinuation of the free trial. Users who wish to continue using the AI-generated image service must now pay for access, with different pricing tiers available such as $10, $30, or $60 per month.

💡Gray markets

Gray markets refer to the trading of goods or services through unofficial or unauthorized channels. In the context of the script, it involves the sale of Discord tokens or bulk-generated Discord accounts, which are used to bypass the restrictions on free trials for the Mid-journey service.

💡Viral how-to video

A viral how-to video is a tutorial that becomes widely popular and spread rapidly across the internet. In the script, it is suggested that such a video from China taught people how to bypass the free trial limitations by creating new Discord accounts, leading to Mid-journey's decision to cancel the free trial.

💡AI art

AI art is a form of creative expression that utilizes artificial intelligence to generate visual or other artistic content. It has gained popularity due to its ability to produce realistic and imaginative images, often indistinguishable from human-created art.

💡Business model

The business model refers to the strategy a company uses to generate revenue and maintain profitability. In the case of Mid-journey, the shift from a free trial to a premium subscription model reflects a change in their business model aimed at sustaining the service and preventing exploitation.

💡Exploitation of free trials

Exploitation of free trials refers to the practice of users taking advantage of a service's free trial offerings beyond the intended use, often by creating multiple accounts to continue accessing the service without paying. This behavior can lead to financial losses for the service provider.

Highlights

The art world has been impacted by a Discord bot that generates impressive images from incoherent keywords.

The bot, known as mid-journey, became popular for creating AI-generated images that went viral on the internet.

On March 28th, 2023, mid-journey's free trial was discontinued.

There was speculation that the free trial was canceled due to political images, such as Trump's arrest and Pope Francis in Balenciaga.

The Washington Post published an in-depth article on the matter, leading to headlines suggesting the free trial was canceled because of the political images.

The AI-generated images, while impressive, often contain subtle anomalies that are not easily noticed by the average viewer.

Mid-journey's cancellation of the free trial was not solely due to political images but also because of the business model shifting towards a premium plan.

Users could bypass the free trial limits by creating new Discord accounts to get more free generations.

The Verge reported that the暂停 of the free trial was due to the influx of throwaway accounts created for free images.

Mid-journey's decision to blame a viral how-to video in China for the issue is criticized as an oversight of the predictable outcome.

There is a gray market for buying Discord tokens or bulk-generated Discord accounts to continue using mid-journey for free.

The cost of using mid-journey for free by creating new accounts is significantly lower than subscribing to the premium plan.

Mid-journey's cancellation of the free trial serves to both stop the exploitation of their service and attract new paying customers.

The narrative of 'AI for everyone' is challenged by the reality of business models prioritizing profit over free access.

The speaker admits to using multiple Discord accounts to exploit the free trial and expresses a preference for the free method over paying for the service.

The mid-journey platform indicates that due to high demand, the free trial is temporarily unavailable but suggests trying again later.

The speaker is skeptical about the company's motives, suggesting that profitability is the primary driver behind the changes in the free trial policy.

The transcript provides insights into the impact of AI on art and the challenges of balancing free access with sustainable business practices.

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