I Did the ChatGPT Action Figure Trend
Here are my results.
A lot of my friends have been hopping on the ChatGPT action figure trend on social media. ChatGPT is a chat bot powered OpenAI that launched in 2022.
The Verge is not a fan of the trend, saying it’s transforming LinkedIn users into “dull dolls.” But Yahoo! News is more receptive. Here’s what Newsweek wrote:
As generative AI continues to evolve, social media users are leveraging tools like ChatGPT and image generators to transform selfies into stylized "action figure" portraits, often encased in digital "Barbie Box"-style packaging.
By combining custom prompts written in ChatGPT, users can render themselves as cartoonish superheroes, dolls and more, sealed behind plastic packs. The results are virally shareable.
I entered a prompt into the chat bot that required my picture and the initial results were disappointing. AI is susceptible to error, of course. The early results generated images that didn’t resemble me in any shape or form. It got my eye color wrong (I have green eyes, not brown ones), and made me fatter than I really am. (I’ve lost a great deal of weight since September - ha.)
Scary… LOL.
Today, I used a more refined prompt and first got a G.I. Jane result. Pretty badass, if you ask me. It, sadly, misspelled my name - adding an extra L to my first name - but otherwise understood the assignment. This might be motivation to continue getting back in shape, as I have been. Ha!
I retooled the ChatGPT prompt further and got more favorable results.
And for the most realistic result, I used this prompt:
Create a stylized collectible action figure of Gabriella Hoffman, an energy policy analyst and freelance journalist who hunts, fishes, and owns guns. She is Lithuanian and Jewish with long blond hair, green eyes, and is petite and fit. She likes oil and gas, coal, nuclear, and geothermal energy. She wears Ann Taylor pant suits or modest bright colored dresses. The accessories include: nuclear reactor, oil pump jack, geothermal plant, whales, eagles, fly fishing rod, video camera, microphone, backpack, and anything else that represents Gabriella. The figurine should be in a package with blue or purple background and bold name label: “Gabriella Hoffman - Energy Policy Analyst”
Voila!
Have you tried the trend? What result did you get? I’d love to hear about your experience with this AI tool.
An interesting post, young lady. Thank you. I'm not exactly sure I know what a "chat bot" is, or ChatGPT. I'm from the generation where we didn't have computers to do our work; our high school themes, our college essays, thesis, dissertation, etc. were produced through the biological processes known as "thought and hard effing work."
That said, I also acknowledge that technology is first and foremost about making life easier and allowing humans to reach their full potential. Such improvements inevitably produce ethical dilemmas. It's one thing to alter our appearance. But, what is your opinion on such technology producing scholarly, peer-reviewed papers? Have you, or would you ever, ask ChatGPT or Copilot or whatever to write an essay and publish it under your name?
I recently read a paper published in a journal written by Grok. The authors clearly stated that the paper represented Grok's "true belief at this time", but also acknowledged that the paper had "significant guidance from human co-authors."
Having fun with visual alterations is OK, but there is a serious question underlying our ability to control and manipulate messaging. Your thoughts, ma'am? I'd be obliged! Thank you.