Why you shouldn’t do the cartoon trend

Why you shouldn’t do the cartoon trend

By Kimberley Braddish
Publication Date: 2026-02-11 03:44:00

You upload a photo, click generate, and if you’ve used ChatGPT enough, a shiny, cartoon-perfect version of you will soon appear on the screen, complete with your career, hobbies, and personality neatly packaged into a single image.

The viral AI cartoon trend has been flooding social media feeds in recent weeks, and people are clearly interested in seeing how artificial intelligence sees them.

Although the results are often cute or funny, experts say the trend raises larger questions about privacy, identity and the hidden environmental costs of AI.

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Dr. Jessamy Perriam, a lecturer at the Australian National University’s School of Cybernetics, said her immediate reaction to the trend was one of skepticism.

“As with many AI trends, my immediate gut reaction is: ‘Oh, but why?’”…