AI image generator Midjourney is disabling free trials until it can make improvements to its system, according to CEO and founder David Holz.
He acknowledged that the company's current safeguards to protect against misuse during the trial haven't been "sufficient."
Holz said it's ending the free period after "extraordinary demand and trial abuse."
- Midjourney previously offered 25 free image generations to users, who now will have to pay $10 per month for a subscription.
- The AI image creator has been a recurring name in viral social media posts, credited for artwork reimagining U.S. presidents with mullets or as Pixar characters.
- Growing interest in the product, which serves users through prompt-and-response interactions on a Discord server, can be seen in its monthly website visits, which grew from 18.6 million in November to 31.6 million in January, according to similarweb.
- Version 5 of its text-to-image creator launched just as fake Midjourney-made photos of Donald Trump and Pope Francis renewed public debate over the use of AI to spread fake news stories.
