The child-like whimsy and artistry from animation superpower Studio Ghibli are easily recognizable and difficult to recreate. However, a recent update from OpenAI allowed ChatGPT users to imagine themselves in the world of “Howl’s Moving Castle” or “Spirited Away,” causing the website to overflow with animated requests and detrimental consequences.
Hayao Miyazaki, founder and artist for Studio Ghibli, said AI is “an insult to life itself.”
CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, recently joked saying the new technology nearly “melted GPUs” due to the incoming flood of requests to recreate Miyazaki’s signature style of art. This “joke,” however, wasn’t far from the truth. The generative requests have actually put intense strain on computing resources, temporary rate limits, longer processing times and have raised ethical and copyright concerns.
In late March, OpenAI’s recent update for ChatGPT, GPT-4o, could create Studio Ghibli-style images with just a few word prompts. As a result, this feature alone drew in a record number of average weekly users, spiking up to 150 million users.
Miyazaki’s comments from 2016 on early AI-generated renditions of his hand-drawn art resurfaced and still ring true. He said this technology has no place in his work and that he is “utterly disgusted.”
Due to OpenAI’s outward push and encouragement over the “Ghibli-fication” feature, the company now faces copyright lawsuits due to its lack of a license on Miyazaki’s original style of art and even raised the question of how ChatGPT was trained to replicate Studio Ghibli’s work.
While others are relishing in the enjoyment of “Ghibli-fying” themselves, Studio Ghibli is actively fighting the potential loss of his hand-drawn art style to artificial intelligence. Furthermore, the damaging environmental effects of excessive AI usage, such as the consumption of resources and energy, are magnified under this feature alone.
Generative AI has been highly criticized recently, as traditional artists have raised genuine concerns over their careers and what the definition of art is with AI on the playing field. Many are calling for AI art to fall, saying it is art without an artist or a vision.
For art to be protected under copyright law, protection is granted under rules of originality, needing human authorship and a creative motive, making Miyazaki’s work protected under law, while OpenAI’s tool is not. Despite this, users continue to use the tool with no repercussions and OpenAI also continues the general encouragement of the popular image generator. Altman even changed his user profile photo to a Studio Ghibli-generated photo of himself.
While the technology and its protections are still under development, there is an uncertain future for Studio Ghibli’s unique style and the ethics of OpenAI’s most popular tool. The use of ChatGPT’s Ghibli generator is wrong, and animation studios like Studio Ghibli are in more immediate danger than advertised.
If artists with names as big as Miyazaki are feeling the need to defend their art, smaller-scale studios and artists will be the next generative targets. Save original art and resist the urge to put yourself in a Ghibli film.
Abby Jenkins is a junior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. What are your thoughts? Let Abby know by tweeting her @abbyjenks18 or emailing her at aj205621@ohio.edu.
