GPT-4o Image Generation
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About
GPT-4o Image Generation, also known as ChatGPT-4o Image Generator, refers to a multimodal image-generation feature in the artificial intelligence assistant and interface GPT-4o, created by OpenAI, that allows more accurate image generation capabilities from detailed, complex and unusual instructions. The update was released in late March 2025, inspiring the viral Studio Ghibli AI Generator trend that allows users to convert images in the art style of the iconic Japanese animation Studio Ghibli, among many other styles. The tool also inspired netizens to recreate memorable memes with different art styles, as well as a heated debate about the moral aspects of AI art, delving into the possibility of the technology replacing real artists. Backlash and controversy notably occurred during the same timeframe when the official Twitter / X account of the U.S. White House shared a Studio Ghibli AI image of a woman being deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
History
On March 25th, 2025, OpenAI[1] announced the ChatGPT-4o Image Generation feature, building on the advancements established in ChatGPT-4o, which was released in May 2024. The company highlighted that the image generation excels at accurately rendering text, precisely following prompts, and "leveraging 4o’s inherent knowledge base and chat context--including transforming uploaded images or using them as visual inspiration."
The company also uploaded a demo video on YouTube[2] on how to use 4o Image generation, featuring Sam Altman, Gabriel Goh, Prafulla Dhariwal, Lu Liu, Allan Jabri and Mengchao Zhong. The post amassed over 360,000 views and 13,000 likes in three days.
Online Reactions
Since its launch, the feature has become the subject of viral discussions regarding AI art, as well as inspiring users to share a variety of creative outputs generated through the image-generation tool. For example, on March 25th, 2025, X[3] user @scaling01 posted two AI-generated images showcased in 4o Image Generation's article (seen below). The post amassed over 355,000 views and 2,500 likes in three days.
![A wide image taken with a phone of a glass whiteboard, in a room overlooking the Bay Bridge. The field of view shows a woman writing, sporting a tshirt wiith a large OpenAl logo. The handwriting looks natural and a bit messy, and we see the photographer's reflection. Transfer between Modalities: Suppose we directly model p(text, pixels, sound) Fixes: model compressed representations +Compose autoregressive prior with a with one big autoregressive transformer. powerful decoder Pros: • image generation augment nowledge next level text renderin Read more native in-context lear •unified post-training Cons: bit-rate d varying Compute not ada OpenAL →>> okens [transformer][diffusion] pixels Best of 8 selfie view of the photographer, as she turns around to high five him Transfer between Modalities: Suppose we directly model Pros: p(text, pixels, sound) with one big autoregressive prior image gen next-lev native i • unified Cons: · varyin Con ed with world kno Fixes: model compressed re •Compose autoregress with a powerful da tokens [transf](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/003/035/999/f1c.jpg "GPT-4o with image generation is actually insane. These are not real images!")
On the same day, X[4] user @deedydas noticed that 4o Image Generation has no celebrity filter, posting an AI-generated image of United States President Donald Trump doing his nails at the Oval Office desk. The post (seen below) received roughly 358,000 views and 4,900 likes in three days.
4o Image Generation also spawned viral posts and debate on Reddit. For example, on March 25th, 2025, Redditor[5] u/Ivan_el_grande uploaded a screenshot of a prompt they gave ChatGPT-4o to recreate the Distracted Boyfriend meme (shown below) with a South Park art style, amassing more than 37,000 upvotes and 3,500 comments in three days.
TikTokers used the 4o Image Generation feature to create AI-videos based on popular memes and historical moments. For instance, on March 26th, 2025, TikTok[6] user @lotrfan2001 posted an AI-generated video based on a series of Trump memes using the Studio Ghibli AI prompt. The video (seen below) amassed over 54,000 plays and 4,900 likes in two days.
@lotrfan2001 Trump vs Zelensky STUDIO GHIBLI STYLE #ai #aivideo #artificialintelligence #donaldtrump #ukraine #meme ♬ original sound – Waterfan
Related Memes
Studio Ghibli AI Generator
Studio Ghibli AI Generator refers to an AI art image-generation tool available on GPT-4o that allows users to convert images to different art styles. After OpenAI released the new image-editing feature on ChatGPT in late March 2025, numerous internet users began converting family photos, memes, historical photographs and other images into a Studio Ghibli-style animated image and sharing them on X / Twitter, among other sites. Studio Ghibli is a Japanese anime film studio with a distinctive and recognizable style of animation. In addition to Studio Ghibli recreations of images, many other iconic art styles, such as South Park, were created and shared by users online.
Art Just Became Accessible
Art Just Became Accessible refers to discourse around a tweet posted by Twitter / X user @KrishRShah, where he shared a group photo of him and his friends edited using Chat GPT-4o into various art styles, including and oil painting and the Studio Ghibli style, alongside a caption that reads, "Art just became accessible." The tweet gathered backlash from artists who did not consider his AI-generated images to be "art," and garnered criticism from internet users who argued that art has always been "accessible." Other internet users posted memes and jokes comparing AI art to TV dinners and fake muscle costumes.
![Twitter / X[1] user @KrishRShah posted a series of images showing a group photo of him and his friends altered using Chat GPT-4o's Image Generation software. The image was recreated in the trending "Studio Ghibli style":https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/studio-ghibli-ai-generator, as an oil painting, and as an anime-style line drawing. The tweet gathered backlash from artists who did not consider his AI-generated images to be "art."](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/003/035/929/69b.png "March 26th, 2025 tweet by @KrishRShah")
White House Studio Ghibli AI Tweet
On March 27th, 2025, the official U.S. White House account on X[7] shared a quote tweet. The post referenced the deportation of Virginia Basora-Gonzalez, who was described in the tweet as a "previously deported alien felon convicted of fentanyl trafficking." Photos showed Basora-Gonzalez being taken into custody by ICE officers in Philadelphia. Her arrest was covered by the New York Post,[9] among other outlets, and occurred on March 13th.[8]
The quote tweet attached an AI-generated image of a crying Basora-Gonzalez being handcuffed by an ICE officer. It was in the Studio Ghibli style akin to the GPT-4o art trend (shown below). In a day, the White House's quote tweet received over 51 million views and 133,000 likes.
The White House's post caused a slew of backlash in the following days, expressed in quote tweets and replies. Detractors believed that it was insensitive, heartless and akin to Fascism. The negative connotation of the image was contrasted by the Studio Ghibli art style, which was widely beloved.
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1] OpenAI – ChatGPT-4o Image Generation Launch
[2] YouTube – 4o Image Generation in ChatGPT and Sora
[5] Reddit – u/Ivan_el_grande
[6] TikTok – lotrfan2001
[7] X – @WhiteHouse
[8] ICE – ICE arrests illegal alien with previous drug trafficking conviction
[9] New York Post – Convicted fentanyl dealer seen sobbing as she’s nabbed by ICE after illegally re-entering US
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