Recently, there has been a major influx of AI-generated Studio Ghibli-esque pictures because of OpenAI’s new GPT‑4o image generator. It creates photos in the animation studio’s signature style and transforms existing pictures into that style. I know, I know…it’s absolutely bonkers and a little…a lot…scary. The virality of AI animation and art right now has sparked the resurfacing of anti-AI comments from Hayao Miyazaki. Below is the CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, announcing and demonstrating the new features that reignited this discussion.
The full text of the Tweet, which alludes to the ability of the AI to create Studio Ghibli art in Hayao Miyazaki’s style, reads:
we are launching a new thing today—images in chatgpt! two things to say about it:
1. it’s an incredible technology/product. i remember seeing some of the first images come out of this model and having a hard time they were really made by AI. we think people will love it, and we are excited to see the resulting creativity. congrats to our researchers
2. this represents a new high-water mark for us in allowing creative freedom. people are going to create some really amazing stuff and some stuff that may offend people; what we’d like to aim for is that the tool doesn’t create offensive stuff unless you want it to, in which case within reason it does. as we talk about in our model spec, we think putting this intellectual freedom and control in the hands of users is the right thing to do, but we will observe how it goes and listen to society. we think respecting the very wide bounds society will eventually choose to set for AI is the right thing to do, and increasingly important as we get closer to AGI. thanks in advance for the understanding as we work through this.
Altman’s profile picture is also himself in Studio Ghibli’s artform, no doubt made by AI. Altman essentially kicked off this recent trend of people Studio Ghiblifying everything from their selfies to memesOpens in a new tab. With the attention on the legendary studio’s art style, co-founder Hayao Miyazaki’s previous anti-AI comments are in the spotlight again.
In 2016, in a documentary aired by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation called NHK Special: Hayao Miyazaki – The One Who Never Ends, Miyazaki was shown an AI-generated character. The character was a scary monster that used its head as a leg because it couldn’t feel pain. The person presenting it said its movements could be used in making a zombie video game.
Miyazaki responded by saying that AI-generated artwork was “an insult to life itself” and that he’d never include it in his Studio Ghibli work or otherwise:
Every morning, not in recent days, I see my friend who has a disability. It’s so hard for him just to do a high five; his arm with stiff muscle can’t reach out to my hand. Now, thinking of him, I can’t watch this stuff and find it interesting. Whoever creates this stuff has no idea what pain is. I’m 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. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself.
The people who created and presented the technology to Miyazaki said their end goal was to create an AI machine that could draw like humans. This was back in 2016, only nine years ago. Technically, the world has made progress on that claim. However, in order for a machine to function anything exactly like humans, a certain level of imperfection needs to occur. Unintentional error shows humanity. The machine would also require a strong personal history that informs how it perceives things. These two things usually convey the strongest levels of emotion from art.
Miyazaki went on to say, “I feel like we are nearing to the end of the times. We humans are losing faith in ourselves.” This powerful testament still holds relevance almost a decade after Miyazaki said it. I think we can all relate to Miyazaki’s thoughts on the advent of generative AI. Although Miyazaki hasn’t said anything recently, other people in entertainment, like the daughter of Robin Williams, Zelda Williams, spoke out on InstagramOpens in a new tab.
“People are gleefully sharing ‘Studio Ghibli style’ AI memes and photos, as though the man himself wouldn’t absolutely despise the technological piracy and negative effects on our environment, said Williams. “Anyway, go watch Princess Mononoke in theaters tonight, and **** AI, she continued referring the film’s recent rerelease in theatres in IMAX 4KOpens in a new tab.
Generative AI keeps getting better and more accurate with every update, but as a society, we need to work toward its regulation and responsible usage. It definitely has a place in our future, and even if we don’t know where the limits are now, we need to figure it out soon. We need to make sure it works with artists, not against them. And please, honor the wishes of Miyazaki and do not create any Studio Ghibli AI knock-offs.
