OpenAI said the latest GPT‑4o model takes a “conservative approach” to mimic the aesthetics of individual artists.
Days after people, in hundreds of thousands, used OpenAI’s image generator in the GPT‑4o model to create Studio Ghibli-inspired art on social media, fans of legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki and critics have expressed their disapproval of the trend and copyright concerns.
On X (formerly Twitter), a tech columnist highlighted several “mind-blowing examples” of Studio Ghibli art created using OpenAI’s latest text-to-image model, which is available only through ChatGPT’s paid version.
But not everyone was impressed, with one X user asking if they “truly value art so little that it’s just a filter for your profile pic?”
Another person commented, “People act like this is a good thing but all the soul has been sucked out of society, we really are at the peak, nothing really matters anymore.”
A third user even hoped for Studio Ghibli to sue “everyone involved.”
Not just that, several people pointed out how the AI tool was being used to generate controversial studio Ghibli-style AI art of events such as the 9/11 attack on the US in 2001 as well as the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
“With #Ghibli style even scary events look like cozy art,” one X user wrote, sharing an AI-generated image of the attack on the Twin Towers.
Another user shared how people were “celebrating” Babri Masjid’s demolition using the AI tool.
The assassination attempt on US President Donald Trump at an election rally last year was also among the AI images shared by some users.
Copyright Concerns
The viral trend has also led to ethical concerns about AI tools trained over copyrighted creative works,
OpenAI has encouraged the ‘Ghiblification’ experiments on the internet, with its CEO Sam Altman changing his X profile picture into a Ghibli-style portrait.
The company, which faces copyright lawsuits over its flagship chatbot, said its latest tool was taking a “conservative approach” to mimic the aesthetics of the individual artists.
It claims to have added a “refusal which triggers when a user attempts to generate an image in the style of a living artist”.
Still, it has permitted “broader studio styles” that have been used widely to generate “truly delightful and inspired original fan creations.”
What Hayao Miyazaki said about AI
As people went about reimagining themselves in Studio Ghibli world, an old video of its co-founder Hayao Miyazaki went viral.
In the clip, the renowned filmmaker, known for masterpieces such as Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro, said the AI would not understand the real feelings of humans, adding it was an “insult to life itself”.
“I can’t watch this stuff and find [it] interesting. Whoever creates this stuff has no idea what pain is whatsoever. I am utterly disgusted. If you really want to make creepy stuff, you can go ahead and do it. I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all,” Mr Miyazaki FarOut Magazine.