OpenAI has recently released its GPT-3 chatbot and DALL-E 2 AI image generation algorithms, and developers are lining up to get access to their APIs. While accessing these APIs only takes an OpenAI account, many developers cannot access them.
This article discusses what you can do if OpenAI’s services are not available in your country, including any fixes and alternatives you can use.
Also read: OpenAI global rate limit exceeded: Quick Fixes
OpenAI API availability
While the APIs are generally available across the world, there are several countries where they’re restricted, including but not limited to the following:
- Afghanistan
- Belarus
- China
- Egypt
- Iran
- Russia
- Ukraine
- Venezuela
If you’re a resident of these countries, you won’t have direct access to the company’s APIs. You can find a full list of supported countries here.Â
Also read: What is Artificial Intelligence? Can machines think?
How to fix this?
Here are three fixes you can try out if you can’t access OpenAI’s APIs.
Use a VPN
Using a VPN app makes your connection originate from the server, not your location. This means you can trick websites and services into thinking you’re browsing from another region entirely. You can try using a VPN with a server based in any of OpenAI’s supported countries to see if that helps solve the problem.Â
Use third-party AI generation tools
Many web apps on the internet use OpenAI’s image generation AI or chatbot to help users quickly get the desired outcome without having to dabble with creating an actual OpenAI account and deal with their credit system.
If access to APIs isn’t your main goal and you want to try these services out, you can use websites like Copy.ai or Craiyon to generate AI-based text or images.
Use an alternative
Since GPT-3 and DALLE 2’s release, many companies have released versions of these AI algorithms. While there’s a chance that these are banned in your region, you can try either of these alternatives to see if you can access their APIs.
- GPT- 3 alternatives: Bloom, GLaM, and Gopher
- DALLE 2 alternatives: Midjourney and StableDiffusion
Also read: Are Humanoid Robots a good idea? What does the future hold?
