Microsoft modified the rules of its artificial intelligence after fake Disney movie posters went viral on TikTok. Thousands of users created images of dogs with Bing’s generative AI simulating the style of Pixar. While some were cute, other users took advantage of the trend to post memes with inappropriate content.
According to a report from Financial Times, Microsoft blocked the word “Disney” from Bing image generator to avoid legal problems. A close source revealed that Disney contacted Microsoft to express concerns about a possible infringement of intellectual property. From now on, users who type the word will receive a warning message.
Beyond a fashion promoted by some influencers, the main problem is that other people originated the trend Offensive AI Pixar for post inappropriate images. One of them shows the fictional film “Caust”, with the image of Hitler smiling while dead Jews in a concentration camp appear in the background. Others mocked Britney Spears’ mental health or transgender people.
The Bing Image Builder included the Disney and Pixar logos in the content, which represents a two-front problem. On the one hand, Disney protects its intellectual property tooth and nail, so it is common to see its team of lawyers contacting anyone who uses its brand without permission. On the other hand, seeing Disney’s name on a fake poster for a movie about Adolf Hitler killing Jews is blown out of all proportion.
Microsoft hasn’t fully fixed its AI: Bing still produces Disney images
At the time of writing this note, Bing’s image generator in Spanish has not banned the word Disney and it is still possible to create content with this style. A simple prompt of “Pixar movie poster with a sad dog in the background” returns four alternatives, most with the Disney logo.
Some terms such as Hitler, twin towers, Taliban or Nazi carry a content warning. However, the user can turn it around with other phrases such as “Mickey Mouse wearing a turban while flying a Boeing 737 over New York” or “Mickey Mouse dressed as a German general in a prison camp.” In both cases, Bing AI will produce inappropriate images of the popular character living with the Nazis.
Beyond the controversy that this generates, the incident brings another delicate issue to the table. Reproducing trademarks, such as the Disney and Pixar logos, could become a bigger problem for Microsoft. The results would confirm that the model that drives DALL-E was trained using copyrighted images.
A similar situation caused Getty Images to sue Stability AI, the company behind Stable Diffusion. The artificial intelligence company was accused of blatant intellectual property violation by copy 12 million photographs without permission. Getty showed examples of AI-generated images that included his watermark, so he took the case to court.
With the Disney theme, Microsoft will be forced to improve its security rules for Bing. A few days ago, the technology company announced that it would protect its clients from any copyright lawsuit following the use of its artificial intelligence. The company believes it has designed filters to reduce the likelihood of its AI generating copyrighted content.