“GhibliGPT” Crashes OpenAI’s GPUs: Anime Image Generation Craze Overwhelms Servers
“Let’s tone things down,” Sam Altman pleads as ChatGPT hits over a million new users in Studio Ghibli-style image-making frenzy.
OpenAI’s GPUs are being pushed to their limits as millions of users flock to take advantage of GPT-4o’s new image-generating feature. Just days after its release, the company has had to impose strict limits to control frenzied demand from the community.
OpenAI’s new image generator, which turns text or photos into detailed works of art, has quickly become a phenomenon thanks to its ability to generate Studio Ghibli-style images. Social media users have been flooded with soft, bright anime drawings reminiscent of masterpieces like Spirited Away or My Neighbor Totoro.
Sam Altman: “Calm down, our team needs a break”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took to Twitter this morning to plead with the community:
“Please, can we stop spamming image generators? Our team needs some sleep!”
Earlier on Thursday, Altman complained that *“Our GPT is melting”*, as some users discovered that it could turn any photo into a cute Ghibli-style version. The craze quickly spread, with everything from political figures to historical events being “ghibliized.”
Within 48 hours, OpenAI was forced to impose emergency limits on its platform. Some regions were shut off from the image generator entirely, while others were limited to just three images per hour. By Monday, the company announced that free users could only generate three images per day.
That hasn't stopped millions of people from flocking to ChatGPT, however. In the space of an hour on Monday, the platform saw a record-breaking 1 million new signups. Searches for "ChatGPT" on Google Trends have even surpassed those for "Google."
Why is OpenAI GPU Overloaded?
Unlike conventional AI image generation tools, GPT-4o uses an image generation method that requires significantly more computing power. While other popular AI models use a diffusion algorithm, GPT-4o uses an autoregressive approach, building images pixel by pixel sequentially. This produces sharper images, especially when displaying text, but it also puts OpenAI's GPUs under immense strain.
Each time an image is generated, hundreds of thousands of complex calculations are performed on multiple GPU cores working in parallel, consuming energy and generating huge amounts of heat. OpenAI is facing the challenge of maintaining this feature without crashing its infrastructure.
Meme Economics: Can OpenAI Make Money From This?
The GPU outage comes at a time when OpenAI is under financial pressure. While Altman claims the company is “doing very well,” reports suggest that OpenAI could lose as much as $14 billion by 2026. With image generation requiring massive amounts of resources to maintain, the question is whether the meme craze is truly profitable or just an expensive pastime.
In any case, those looking to turn their photos into Ghibli masterpieces may have to wait a while. OpenAI says it is optimizing its systems and hopes to restore full capacity soon. But with GPUs being so overloaded, it’s unclear when that will happen.