New viral ChatGPT trend leans into the nostalgia of the '80s

New viral ChatGPT trend leans into the nostalgia of the '80s

A new trend has ChatGPT users throwing it back to the '80s.

Old-school-looking portraits have inundated feeds across social platforms in recent days, as some race to ask, or instruct a generative artificial intelligence chatbot to "retro-ify" modern photographs to see what they would look like in the 1980s.

While the notion of using an AI-powered chatbot to transform yourself, or anything you have a photograph of, into something else isn't exactly new — just a couple of months ago people were creating caricatures of themselves at work — it has become a viral form of entertainment, especially as AI use has become more common.

Since interest in these trends is often short-lived, users tend to hop on them as soon as they see it pop up on their timelines or "for you pages."

ChatGPT users have turned themselves, or their pets, into pretty much anything under the sun, including Studio Ghibli characters and Barbie dolls.

Between teased hair and blazers, this latest trend leans into the nostalgia of the decade, meaning that the bold and colorful looks that defined the 1980s are back in style, at least for now.

Here's everything we know about the trend, including a step-by-guide on how to use artificial intelligence to "retro-ify" a photo.

Not everyone's a fan of the latest trend

Some people point out the environmental impact of AI use and other issues, such as privacy risks, heavy water use from data centers, psychological effects, and copyright infringement. Similar reactions have played out online around the trend, with some users sharing retro portraits while others condemn the use of AI or criticize people who take issue with it.

Some have even called on people actually born in the 1980s to avoid jumping on the bandwagon since real photographs of them from that time already exist, with one X user quipping that they'd like "my offspring to drink clean water in the 30s."

Those who have participated in the trend thus far were either flattered by how they were depicted or simply sharing their creation to signal to others that they had participated.

"Since Farcebook has infected Twittface with the 80s AI crap….actual footage of me in the 80s (no robots were harmed in the making of these images) #bandwagon," one X user wrote.

How to 'retro-ify' your photo using ChatGPT

Interested in "retro-ifying" your photo? Just follow these steps:

The more information you provide, the more "accurate" the result will be, especially if the chatbot doesn’t know you well yet or if you are a newly minted user. Some AI assistants, including ChatGPT, offer voice features that allow users to say how they want their creation to look.