Japanese animation legend and founder of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, once described artificial intelligence animation as ‘an insult to life itself’. But almost 10 years later, the internet is now flooded with a tsunami of AI-generated images regurgitating his exact art style. A newly released image tool on ChatGPT which allows anyone to generate visuals in different artistic styles has set ablaze a social media trend which has seen thousands of people create AI-generated memes and personal portraits in the art style of Studio Ghibli.
The Japanese studio is one of the most notable animation houses worldwide, responsible for producing Oscar-winning films Spirited Away and The Boy and the Heron. Several of its films will feature in a free outdoor Studio Ghibli film festival at Fed Square during the school holidays. A scene from Hayao Miyazaki’s 2023 film The Boy And The Heron, which won awards at the Oscars, BAFTAs and the Golden Globes.
Credit: AP However, the trend has since been met with backlash, and has sparked broader discussions about the ethical concerns of AI-generated art in an era increasingly shaped by algorithms. Can AI truly capture the depth and soul of art created by humans, or is there perhaps something profoundly unsettling about this new trend? What is this trend, and how did it blow up? Within hours of OpenAI rolling out its new image-generation features on Tuesday, users began to upload personal photos of themselves in Ghibli’s animated style, whi.
