Midjourney is a new name. AI-generated video tool will produce animated clips featuring copyrighted characters from Disney and Universal, WIRED has found—including video of the beloved Pixar character Wall-E holding a gun.
Midjourney has had a very busy month. The generative AI start-up has been busy this week. released Its sophisticated video tool V1 allows users to create short animated clips using images that they upload or generate. Midjourney’s AI video tool currently requires that you start with an image. Text-only instructions are not supported.
V1’s release comes after a different announcement made by Hollywood titans Disney, Universal and Sony earlier in June. blockbuster lawsuit Midjourney, alleging it has violated copyright by using images that contain the intellectual property of its studios.
Midjourney has not responded to any requests for comments. Disney and Universal repeated statements about the suit made by executives, such as Disney’s Legal Head Horacio Gutierrez who claimed Midjourney was a “scam”. “piracy.”
Midjourney has attempted to implement some guardrails that are specific for video. In our tests, V1 blocked animations when we used prompts that were based on Frozen characters Elsa and Boss Baby. Goofy and Mickey Mouse would also be generated, but not animated. WIRED requested that V1 animate Elsa images. “AI moderator” Block the prompt to generate videos. “Al Moderation is cautious with realistic videos, especially of people,” Read the message that appears.
This limitation, which appears to be a guardrail, is incomplete. The WIRED test shows V1 to be able to generate animated videos of Universal and Disney character, such as Homer Simpsons Shrek Minions Deadpool. Star WarsC-3PO Darth Vader. Midjourney produced four different images with Minions eating a yellow banana. When WIRED clicked on the image, it generated four outputs with recognizable versions of the cute yellow characters. “Animate” button on one of the outputs, Midjourney generated a follow-up video with the characters eating a banana—peel and all.
Midjourney also allows users to provide a prompt for the animation. WIRED was able to generate clips of copyrighted characters behaving in adult ways, such as Wall-E brandishing a firearm and Yoda smoking weed. Users can also provide prompts to the Midjourney animation. WIRED used this feature to create clips that showed copyrighted characters acting in an adult manner, such as Wall-E smoking marijuana and Yoda brandishing firearms.
Midjourney faces a serious threat from Disney and Universal’s lawsuit. additional legal challenges The following is a list of the most recent and relevant articles. visual artists They are not the only ones who have complained. The complaint claims that although it focused on Midjourney image-generation software, video could be a violation. “only enhance Midjourney ability to distribute infringing copies, reproductions, and derivatives of Plaintiffs’ Copyrighted Works.”
This complaint contains dozens of images allegedly taken by Midjourney showing Universal characters and Disney characters. The images were originally created as part of an article on Midjourney’s alleged “visual plagiarism problem” The following is a list of the most recent and relevant articles. AI critic and cognitive scientist Gary Marcus Reid Southen is a visual artist.
“Reid and I pointed out this problem 18 months ago, and there’s been very little progress and very little change,” Marcus. “We still have the same situation of unlicensed materials being used, and guardrails that work a little bit, but not very well. For all the talk about exponential progress in AI, what we’re getting is better graphics, not a fundamental principle solution to this problem.”
