Category: Technology

Since March of this year, it’s been possible to generate images directly within ChatGPT. Following a period where it briefly wasn’t available to free users, you now don’t even pay for one of OpenAI’s subscriptions to use the tool. And while making images inside of ChatGPT is easy, there are some nuances worth explaining. For example, did you know you can ask ChatGPT to edit photos you’ve taken? It’s more powerful than you might think. Here’s everything you need to know about generating AI images with ChatGPT.  

How to create images with ChatGPT using text prompts 

To begin making an image in ChatGPT, you can start by typing in the prompt bar.

To begin generating images in ChatGPT, start typing in the prompt bar what you want to see. There’s no need to overthink things; as long as you have some version of “generate an image” followed by a description of your idea, ChatGPT will do the rest.  

Depending on the complexity of your prompt, it may take up to two minutes for ChatGPT to complete your image request. Sometimes the process can take longer if OpenAI’s servers are experiencing greater traffic than usual. 

How to create images with ChatGPT using existing photos

You can also upload images to ChatGPT.

In addition to generating images from text prompts, ChatGPT can modify existing photos or images you upload. This is my preferred way of making images with ChatGPT; I don’t need to describe the composition, I can use an existing one to guide the chatbot. To use a photo as a starting point for a new generation, follow these steps:    

Tap the “+“ icon, located to the left of the prompt bar.  

Select Add photos & files. 

Select the image you want ChatGPT to edit.  

If uploading an image from your phone, you’ll need to grant ChatGPT access to your camera roll.   

Write a prompt describing the changes you want.   

Keep in mind any photos you upload to OpenAI’s servers may be used by the company to train future models. You can opt out of allowing your data to be used for training by following these steps: 

Open the sidebar menu. On mobile, tap the two lines on the top left of the interface. On desktop, click on the OpenAI logo.

Tap your name to access account settings. 

Tap Data controls.

Toggle off Improve the model for everyone. 

How to edit the images ChatGPT generates

ChatGPT gives you a few different ways to modify an image to your liking.

If you’re unhappy with ChatGPT’s output, you have two options. You can either prompt it to create an entirely new image, or edit parts of the picture it just generated. As before, you can simply write what changes you want to see in the prompt bar. OpenAI also gives users a few different shortcuts to accomplish the same task.

To generate an entirely new image:  

On mobile, tap the two arrows icon below the image ChatGPT created.  

Select Try again, Add details or More concise. 

Alternatively, tap the image ChatGPT created and select Edit. 

Describe what you want ChatGPT to add, remove or replace through the prompt bar. 

To edit part of an existing image generation: 

Tap the image ChatGPT created. 

Tap Select. On desktop, instead click on the paintbrush icon on the top right. 

Use your finger to mask the section of the image you want ChatGPT to tweak. The slider on the left allows you to adjust the size of the masking brush.     

Describe what you want ChatGPT to add, remove or replace through the prompt bar. 

Like all AI systems, ChatGPT is non-deterministic, meaning even if you prompt it in the same way multiple times, it won’t generate the exact same response each time.   

Tips to create better images with ChatGPT

The best advice I can offer is to be specific when prompting ChatGPT. The more detail you can provide when describing what you want from it, the better the results. And remember: ChatGPT can hallucinate — as you may have noticed from one of the example pictures I included above. In the image of the tortoiseshell cat, not only is the tortie not sitting on the window sill as instructed, it’s sitting on a table that doesn’t make much sense. So, most of all, be patient. Prompting an AI model is not exact science, and it can take a few tries before it creates the result you want.  

FAQs

How do you access ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is available on the web, desktop and mobile. To access it on your computer, open your preferred browser and navigate to chatgpt.com. OpenAI also offers dedicated Mac and Windows apps you can download from the company’s website. On iOS and Android, you’ll need to download the ChatGPT app from either the App Store or Google Play before you can start using the chatbot.   

Since ChatGPT runs on OpenAI’s servers, as long as you can access the chatbot, you’ll be able to use it to create images no matter the age of your phone or computer. 

Can ChatGPT generate images for free? 

Yes, ChatGPT can generate images for free, as long as you have an OpenAI account. However, there is a daily rate cap and GPT-5 will take longer to make an image. Following March 27, 2025, OpenAI briefly limited free users to three image generations per day. The company has since relaxed that restriction, though it doesn’t list a specific limit on its website. In my experience, you’ll be able to generate about six to seven images every 24 hours.    

OpenAI’s $20-per-month Plus plan offers “expanded and faster image creation,” while its $200-per-month Pro tier includes unlimited image generation as a perk.   

Can ChatGPT recreate an existing photo? 

No. For copyright reasons, ChatGPT can’t replicate photos or exact real world events. For example, when I asked it to recreate the photo of Zinedine Zidane’s iconic 2006 World Cup headbutt, ChatGPT refused.  

“I can make an artistic reinterpretation inspired by the emotion or energy of that moment — for example, a stylized painting showing the tension and intensity of competition, without depicting real individuals,” it told me.  

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/how-to-generate-ai-images-using-chatgpt-120000560.html?src=rss 

Rockstar Games has announced Grand Theft Auto VI ‘s launch is being delayed once again to November 19, 2026. That’s roughly a year from now. It was previously delayed from its 2025 launch window to May 26, 2026. And now again.

If you have the feeling it’s been a while since the last GTA game, you’d be right. GTA V was originally released in 2013 and has been re-released multiple times since then. In fact, it’s a rare game that’s spanned PS3, PS4 and PS5.

Rockstar is likely self-assured that the game will do fine. Grand Theft Auto Online, a multiplayer mode for GTA V that can also be downloaded as a standalone game, remains a hit.

“We continue to supply content to GTA Online, and in fact we’ve had terrific results there. And GTA+ continues to grow its membership. In fact, it’s had 20 percent growth year-over-year. And GTA V has sold more than 220 million units,” said Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick in an interview with The Game Business.

— Mat Smith

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Apple may release its first low-cost MacBook in early 2026

The budget-friendly system is in early production.

Apple may debut a low-cost Mac laptop in the first half of 2026. According to a Bloomberg report, it’s in early production, and Apple is testing the devices internally. The idea may be to create a rival to cheap Chromebooks and Windows PCs, nudging folks into that money-spinning ecosystem. The company is said to be making the system with casual users, students and businesses in mind. (I’d guess many of those users are paying more for MacBooks with power they’ll never really tap into.)

The report suggests it’ll have a “lower-end LCD display,” and it’s expected to run on an A-series iPhone processor that would still, apparently, deliver better performance than the M1.

Continue reading.

Why DJI drones might be banned in the US

Everything you need to know about the Chinese company’s future in America.

DJI drones still face a potential US ban, due to national security concerns. It’s a combination of the company’s Chinese origins and laws compelling cooperation with state intelligence services. It’s also a very visible, notable drone maker — and flying robots understandably make folks nervous. After losing a recent lawsuit and an appeal, DJI is nearing a key December 23, 2025, deadline under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which could trigger an automatic ban. A recent FCC vote and pending legislation could also block sales and even theoretically prevent people from using already-purchased drones by cutting off radio access.

DJI might have to hope a ban will create enough customer outcry to stimulate a political response in its favor.

Continue reading.

Driving Honda’s lighter, faster and more fun next-gen hybrid prototype

New hybrids are coming soon from Honda.

Honda revealed its new hybrid car tech, and it’s lighter, faster and… actually fun. That’s accomplished by massive weight savings and a surprising S+ Shift mode, which simulates an eight-speed transmission for manual driving fans. We got a first look at the platform that will transform the next-gen Civic and Prelude, officially, hopefully marking the end of the slow, droning hybrid car.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-gta-6-is-delayed-until-november-2026-121525547.html?src=rss 

There’s a reason the story of Frankenstein endures. Its examination of mankind’s hubris and inhumane scientific progress has only become more relevant since Mary Shelley’s time. The pursuit of “innovation at all costs” has led to new monsters, born from people who failed (or refused) to consider the consequences of their actions. So it’s no wonder that Victor Frankenstein in Guillermo del Toro’s Netflix adaptation feels so much like a modern day tech bro. He is practically their template.

Squint a bit, and you can see Frankenstein’s recklessness in Mark Zuckerberg ignoring Facebook’s role in promoting the genocide in Myanmar, with Elon Musk lying about Tesla’s real self-driving capabilities (potentially leading to several crashes), or Sam Altman’s OpenAI building a hallucinating AI search engine trained on stolen content. Screw the consequences, they just want to shout “it’s alive!” as their products go viral (and as their investors lap up the engagement).

Del Toro’s Frankenstein is a remix of the major elements of the novel — there’s the doomed love story, the mad scientist driven by his ego and the sympathetic monster who demonstrates far more humanity than his creator — refashioned in the director’s opulent style. But it’s also clear from the film’s explosive opening, where an Arctic ship encounters Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) being chased by a seemingly unkillable Creature (Jacob Elordi), that del Toro isn’t shying away from his campier horror roots. Arms are torn off, gallons of blood are spilled. This Frankenstein contains multitudes.

Why did Victor Frankenstein go through hell to reanimate the dead? Because he could. In the novel and this film, the whole ordeal was always about bragging rights and demonstrating his greatness as a scientist. He didn’t consider what he owed to the new life form, or the cruelty of bringing a being into the world with no companion. It didn’t matter who he hurt. Sound familiar?

Mia Goth and Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein

  What truly makes del Toro’s Frankenstein work is his understanding of the characters. As Victor Frankenstein, Oscar Isaac embodies the punk rock charm of a rebel scientist who thinks he alone can invent a way to reanimate life. But he also lives with the memory of an abusive father who likely killed his beloved mother. Elizabeth fascinates and intrigues Victor, but she’s also disgusted by his apathy for the natural world. It’s not hard to see why she feels immediate sympathy for the Creature, who is portrayed by Jacob Elordi as a sort of child-like super human. He’s an immediate disappointment to Frankenstein, who can’t help but repeat the cycle of abuse he experienced with his father.

Looking back at his career, it’s as if del Toro has been trying to adapt Shelley’s novel through all of his films. You can see elements of the story in his debut feature Cronos, which centers on a device that makes people immortal (but also curses them with a thirst for blood). The tragic father and son relationship between Frankenstein and the Creature is mapped directly onto the evil vampires in Blade 2. The Gothic romance between Frankenstein and his sister-in-law Elizabeth (who also has eyes for the Creature) echoes Crimson Peak. And the desire for a seemingly “evil” being to fit into normal human life is front and center in del Toro’s Hellboy films.

Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein

In an interview with NPR, del Toro mentioned that, as a child, seeing the monster appear for the first time in the 1931 Frankenstein film was “an epiphany.” It was an experience that helped him understand his own faith, and seemingly his entire view of life and art. His Frankenstein is the work of someone who has been living with the story for decades. It comes to life with lavish sets, his love of voluptuous colors (there’s a scene of a red scarf floating in the air that haunts me) and his fascination with the macabre.

There’s a lesson in Frankenstein for today’s tech elite, but given their current obsession with AI despite its potentially massive societal and environmental impacts, I have little hope they’ll learn anything from it. But when Guillermo del Toro was asked about using generative AI by NPR, he spoke as someone who truly understood Shelley’s novel. “I’d rather die,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/guillermo-del-toro-delivers-a-frankenstein-for-the-tech-bro-era-080000058.html?src=rss 

Elon Musk went on stage on Thursday night during Tesla’s annual shareholders meeting and made some big claims and promises. The company is “almost comfortable” letting owners with Full Self-Driving (FSD) “text and drive,” he said. At the moment, its vehicles are still strictly monitoring drivers to make sure their eyes are on the road, but Musk said that Tesla will enable unsupervised FSD that will allow texting and driving within “a month or two.”

To note, Tesla’s FSD is currently capable of level 2 autonomous driving. Musk is promising at least a level 4 capability, in which the driver can be disengaged as the car performs all driving tasks for them, within a short span of time. While he said that Tesla will look at its safety data first, he didn’t discuss the steps it’s taking to enable texting while driving and whether it’s already discussing the legalities of it with regulators.

Talking about the Cybercab, Musk said production of the robotaxis will begin by April next year. Since it will be specifically built with autonomy in mind, it will not have pedals, a steering wheel and even side mirrors. The Cybercab’s manufacturing process, he explained, is vastly different from typical car production and is more comparable to phone manufacturing. That’s why he thinks the company will be able to produce one unit every 10 seconds.

Musk also talked about the flying car he teased on Joe Rogan’s show. When asked at the event, he said the demo will now take place on April 1, 2026, instead of this month or the next like he told Rogan. It remains to be seen whether we’re going to get April Fooled, but Musk claimed that production of Tesla’s flying vehicle will happen a year or so after its unveiling. As always, take Musk’s claims with a grain of salt, as he’s pretty infamous for being overly ambitious with his timelines.

While Musk was on stage talking about Tesla’s plans, an Optimus humanoid robot was standing by the side. The CEO said Optimus is bound to become the “biggest product of all time,” bigger than cellphones, “bigger than anything.” Tesla will start with a 1-million production line and then a 10-million production line, but he said the company expects to eventually produce 100 million to a billion Optimus robots a year. He envisions a world wherein the humanoid machines will provide people with medical care… as well as a world wherein instead of being jailed, Optimus follows criminals around to stop them from committing more crimes.

Before Musk went on stage, Tesla’s shareholders had voted to approve his pay package worth up to $1 trillion over the next 10 years. Tesla has to hit several goals for Musk to become the first trillionaire, though, including reaching a market value of $8.5 trillion from its current worth of $1.4 billion and selling a million Optimus robots.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/elon-musk-says-tesla-owners-can-text-and-drive-very-soon-042454805.html?src=rss 

One of the things that’s long irked me about Meta’s smart glasses is how often you have to say “hey Meta.” Even though the company’s AI assistant has gotten significantly more capable, there’s something a little cringey about using its voice commands in public spaces. 

Now, the company has rolled out an update that makes you a little less dependent on voice commands for all its glasses. A new “quick connect” feature allows you to create a one-touch shortcut for “frequently used communication actions,” like making a phone call or sending a text to a specific contact. The update is out now as part of the 19.2 software update.

The idea of “quick connect” is similar to the functionality of the “action button” on the Oakley Meta Vanguard glasses, though it’s more limited in scope. The feature allows you to designate a specific contact that you can message, text or call just by holding down on the touchpad on the right side of the glasses. The Meta AI app will even let you choose your preferred method of reaching them, whether it’s WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger or your phone’s native calling or messaging app. The same one-touch press and hold shortcut can also be used to send photos and videos shot on the glasses right after you take them (also via your chosen app). 

You can designate a specific contact and on which app you want to be able to contact them.

During its Connect event, Meta previewed some updates for third-party apps that appear to allow developers to set their own wake words for the glasses when using their services. So there is some hope that eventually the company will offer a bit more flexibility with its voice commands. Even so, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to get away with never having to say “hey Meta,” but the quick connect update is a handy way to make messaging a bit more discreet.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/metas-smart-glasses-have-a-new-shortcut-to-call-and-text-without-saying-hey-meta-213303178.html?src=rss