Midjourney ends free trials due to ‘extraordinary abuse’

Midjourney, an AI image generator, has stopped offering free trials citing an increase in new users as the reason for the change. 

David Holz, CEO of Midjourney, stated in an interview with The Verge that the company has halted its free trial program for its AI image generator due to a surge in new users.

Holz first cited "extraordinary demand and trial abuse" in a Discord message and later explained that the pause was necessary because many people were creating throwaway accounts to obtain free images. Currently, the use of Midjourney's technology requires a monthly payment of at least $10.

Initially, there was speculation that the pause in Midjourney's free trials was due to the recent surge of viral images, such as fabricated pictures of Donald Trump's arrest and the pope wearing a trendy jacket, that were created using the platform. 

However, Holz clarified that this was a "misunderstanding" and emphasised that the free trial did not include access to the latest version, Midjourney version 5, which is responsible for creating the most realistic images and was potentially used for the viral images. 

Holz's reference to "abuse" was instead related to the high number of people creating throwaway accounts to obtain free images.

Midjourney's version 5 represents a significant improvement in generating high-quality images of people. The noticeable improvements in the system's capabilities have led to several viral images in recent weeks, including fabricated pictures of Donald Trump's arrest and the pope's fashion sense. 

Other notable examples include images of French President Emmanuel Macron walking through ongoing protests in Paris and Elon Musk holding hands with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.