ChatGPT recent update allows users to change their pictures into distinct style of Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli's founder, which has prompted mixed reaction from fans.
On Thursday, March 27, 2025, President Donald Trump's administration also jumped into the trend as the White House turned to X account to post an image of a crying woman from Dominican Republic recently arrested by US immigration agents.
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While some animation enthusiasts were delighted to see themselves in Studio Ghibli-style images, there were also several fans, who highlighted ethical concerns about AI tools trained on copyrighted creative works.
Along with that, it also raised issue about the use of AI for art means for the future livelihoods of human artists.
Miyazaki, the renowned Japanese artist known for his hand-drawn approach and quirky storytelling has expressed mistrust about AI's role in animation.
Open AI, which is fighting copyright lawsuits over its flagship chatbot, has largely encouraged the "Ghilblification" experiments, with its CEO Sam Altman changing his profile on X into a Ghibli-style portrait.
As internet gets flooded with Miyazaki-inspired AI images, a previous comment of the 84-year-old on AI animation has resurfaced.
In 2016, the Spirited Away creator was shown an AI demo of "grotesque movements that we humans can’t imagine", which left the artist "utterly disgusted."
He further added that he would "never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all."
While expressing his concern of AI in art, Miyazaki noted, "I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself."
John Weigensberg, a partner at the law firm Pryor Cashman has shared that the AI art raises question on whether the AI model was trained on Miyazaki or Studio Ghibli's work and if "they have a license or permission to do that training or not?"
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Notably, the animation studio has not made an official comment on the viral trend yet.
