Your social feed is full of AI cartoons, here’s what’s going on

You’ve probably seen them everywhere this week: playful cartoon versions of people filling your social media feeds, each with exaggerated facial features and a handful of professional props. The first big social media trend of the year is all about turning yourself into an AI-powered caricature, and yes, ChatGPT is right in the thick of it. (It’s not the first viral AI trend, who remembers “Make it more”?)

Actually, it works like a digital cartoonist you’d find at a trade show, presenting on London’s South Bank, or anywhere people are so drunk they want an embarrassing portrait, but it’s done by AI, and someone has just lost their job. The idea is simple: give ChatGPT a photo and a prompt, and it will generate a stylized image that looks like you, just slightly caricatured. The features are over-the-top, the tone is whimsical, and there are visual clues that hint at what you do for a living.

Read how to create one with AI below, but if you want to do it right, read…