History of Midjourney in Timeline

Midjourney is an AI program and service developed by Midjourney, Inc., that generates images based on textual prompts. Functionally similar to DALL-E and Stable Diffusion, it contributes to the ongoing AI revolution. It allows users to create images from natural language descriptions.

March 14, 2022: Midjourney Discord Server Launch

On March 14, 2022, the Midjourney Discord server launched, with a request for users to post high-quality photographs to Twitter and Reddit for systems training.

April 2022: Version 2 Algorithm Launch

In April 2022, Midjourney launched version 2 of its algorithm, marking an improvement in its image generation capabilities.

June 2022: The Economist Front Cover

In June 2022, The Economist used Midjourney to create the front cover for one of its issues, showcasing the tool's potential in professional design.

July 12, 2022: Midjourney Enters Open Beta

On July 12, 2022, Midjourney entered open beta, making the tool more widely available to users.

August 2022: Profitability and User Creation Methods

In August 2022, David Holz mentioned that Midjourney was already profitable. Users were creating artwork with Midjourney using Discord bot commands or the official website.

August 2022: Use in Italian Newspaper and Controversy

In August 2022, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera published a comic created with Midjourney by writer Vanni Santoni. Charlie Warzel used Midjourney to generate two images of Alex Jones for Warzel's newsletter in The Atlantic, sparking controversy and debate over AI-generated art's impact on artists' jobs. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver included a 10-minute segment on Midjourney.

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November 5, 2022: Alpha Iteration of Version 4 Release

On November 5, 2022, the alpha iteration of Midjourney's version 4 was released to users. The MJ models were trained on Google TPUs.

December 2022: AI-Generated Children's Book Controversy

In December 2022, Midjourney was used to generate the images for an AI-generated children's book titled Alice and Sparkle, created over a weekend by Ammaar Reeshi. The product and the process drew criticism regarding the use of artists' work without consent.

2022: Théâtre D'opéra Spatial Wins Art Competition

In 2022, a Midjourney image called Théâtre D'opéra Spatial won first place in the digital art competition at the Colorado State Fair, sparking controversy among other digital artists.

January 13, 2023: Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Filed

On January 13, 2023, three artists—Sarah Andersen, Kelly McKernan, and Karla Ortiz—filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt.

March 15, 2023: Alpha Iteration of Version 5 Release

On March 15, 2023, Midjourney released the alpha iteration of version 5.

May 2023: Transition to AI-Powered Content Moderation

Commencing in May 2023, with subsequent updates post version 5, Midjourney transitioned to an AI-powered content moderation system, allowing for a more nuanced interpretation of user prompts.

May 2023: Moderation Mechanism Based on Banned Word System

Prior to May 2023, Midjourney implemented a moderation mechanism predicated on a banned word system, prohibiting the use of language associated with explicit content, such as sexual or pornographic themes, as well as extreme violence. Moreover, the system also banned certain individual words, including those of religious and political figures, such as Allah or General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping.

July 2023: Lawsuit Dismissal Inclination

In July 2023, U.S. District Judge William Orrick inclined to dismiss most of the lawsuit filed by Andersen, McKernan, and Ortiz but allowed them to file a new complaint.

September 5, 2023: Vary (Region) Feature Released

On September 5, 2023, Midjourney released the Vary (Region) feature as part of MidJourney V5.2, allowing users to apply variations to specific areas of an image.

October 2023: Report on National Stereotypes

In October 2023, Rest of World reported that Midjourney tends to generate images based on national stereotypes.

November 2023: Another Lawsuit Filed

Another lawsuit was filed in November 2023 against Midjourney, Stability AI, DeviantArt and Runway AI for using the copyrighted work of over 4,700 artists.

December 21, 2023: Alpha Iteration of Version 6 Release

On December 21, 2023, Midjourney released the alpha iteration of version 6, which was trained from scratch over nine months. Support was added for better text rendition and a more literal interpretation of prompts.

2023: Viral AI-Generated Photos

In 2023, the realism of AI-based text-to-image generators like Midjourney, DALL-E, or Stable Diffusion led to a wave of viral AI-generated photos, including a Midjourney-generated photo of Pope Francis wearing a white puffer coat, the fictional arrest of Donald Trump, and a hoax of an attack on the Pentagon.

August 2024: Tool in Open Beta

As of August 2024, Midjourney is still in open beta.

August 2024: Web Interface Launched

In August 2024, Midjourney introduced its web interface to make its tools more accessible, moving beyond its initial reliance on Discord. This web-based platform was launched alongside the release of Midjourney version 6.1.

2024: Gibberish Figures Generated

In 2024, a Frontiers journal published a paper which contained gibberish figures generated with Midjourney, one of which was a diagram of a rat with large testicles and a large penis towering over himself. The paper was retracted a day after the images went viral on Twitter.