Midjourney is one of the best in its niche. The neural network creates realistic pictures according to the text description – sometimes it is impossible to understand that there is a fake in them.

Why won’t Midjourney be free anymore?

The developers say they took this step because of the sudden influx of new users. Midjourney CEO and founder David Holtz said this is because “a lot of people are creating one-day accounts to get free images.”

We think a viral how-to video in China is probably the culprit. This happened at the same time as a temporary graphics processor shortage. These two things combined and caused the service to drop to paying users.
Holtz explained.

Also, he mentions harassment, possibly referring to recent events with Pope Francis and Donald Trump. The first was depicted with a huge fluffy jacket, which sparked numerous debates about the pontif’s lifestyle, and the second was shown in the hands of the police at the time of his arrest. The created pictures turned out to be so realistic that thousands of people on social networks believed in their authenticity. In addition, “photos” of French President Emmanuel Macron walking amid protests in Paris and Elon Musk holding hands with Alexandria MP Ocasio-Cortez were also shared online.

All of these images were created by Midjourney / Photo by Eliot Higgins.

Version 5 of Midjourney has greatly improved the quality of images with people. For example, deformed hands, which used to be a characteristic (the algorithm produced humans with five fingers), are no longer a problem. The lighting and fabric are also more realistic and the system can produce images of countless celebrities and public figures.