The ChatGPT-Ghibli Trend: Fun Experiment or Threat to Human Creativity?

The ChatGPT Studio Ghibli trend has taken social media by storm, transforming photos into AI-generated Ghibli-style illustrations. But as AI art evolves, so does the debate on ethics, originality, and the future of human creativity.        
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OpenAI recently enhanced ChatGPT-4o by introducing its native image creation feature, ‘4o Image Generation.’ The Internet rushed to find myriad uses of this feature. This new version of GPT enables users to replicate diverse artistic styles, among other things. The top discovery that took social media by storm was its ability to transform photos into the iconic animation aesthetic of Studio Ghibli.

Soon, social media was filled with trademark Ghibli-esque photos of people with squinty happy eyes or big, open eyes and colourful backgrounds. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was one of the first to jump on the trend and changed his profile photo to one that seemed like a Ghibli-style illustration.

Read: Studio Ghibli: Everything About ChatGPT’s New Japanese Animation Style Image Feature

The US-based AI research company announced the update on social media Wednesday, sparking a wave of excitement. In its launch announcement, OpenAI said that its new tool is the “most advanced image generator yet, built into GPT‑4o that features a natively multimodal model capable of precise, accurate, photorealistic outputs.”Insider-3 (8)

However, as iconic film scenes and personal photos were transformed into famous Ghibli-esque illustrations, a new debate arose on what this means for art in general.

We dive deep into the complexities of AI-generated art and both sides of the debate.

AI Could Generate Art Emulating Studio Ghibli in Seconds

Twitter was flooded with scenes from iconic movies and popular memes in Ghibli-style, as soon as the trend started.Insider-2 (8)

Popular street food was also posted.Insider-1 (13)

People used personal wedding, travel and other photos too, to change their style.

AI could transform any image into a given style in seconds. This wasn’t limited to just Ghibli, as one could make any image Shinchan illustration style, or a watercolour painting or any other reference they wished to.

Lovers of Studio Ghibli pointed out how each Ghibli frame is hand-drawn, leading to some scenes taking years to produce.

Questions of Ethics And Artistic Originality

One major concern raised was the use of existing artistic styles without direct involvement from the original artists and whether AI companies obtained permission to train their models on existing art.

Studio Ghibli’s aesthetic, crafted over decades by visionary animators like Hayao Miyazaki, is deeply personal, rooted in human craftsmanship and depicting themes randing from war to human frailties.

An old video of co-founder of Studio Ghibli, Miyazaki commenting on art resurfaced, where he says, “AI art is an insult to life itself”.

The ability of AI to replicate this style so effortlessly leads to questions about authenticity, artistic ownership, and the value of human creativity.

Human art is valuable for the nuances an artist brings to the art. Many artists have argued that AI-generated images lack the soul and imperfections that make human-created art unique. AI could never capture the decades of hard work that go into an artist's developing a signature style.

Many questioned whether AI was “pushing creative boundaries or crossing the line.”

Innovation and Popularising Old Styles

On the other hand, some fans of Ghibli enjoyed interacting with technology to bring their own snaps into Ghibli-style photos and post them on social media. For them, it was another fun way of interacting with emerging technology.

Many even said that for those who were unaware, this trend may have helped them discover Studio Ghibli, thus bringing further recognition to the brand.

Read: What Netflix’s Adolescence Reveals About Social Media and Teen Behaviour: Experts Weigh In

The debate further ignited worries from artists who wondered if AI could replace them. If AI can mimic specific styles with high accuracy, will it diminish the demand for human illustrators? While some view AI as a tool that can assist artists, others fear that widespread use of AI could devalue original artwork and reduce opportunities for emerging creators.

The larger question that this brings forth is if more people use AI for art, will we one day end up having a reality where originality is undervalued while homogeneity is the norm?

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