Ever since OpenAI introduced a feature of converting real-life pictures into “Ghibli Art,” the trend has caught on globally, with millions of netizens creating their favorite moments into “shareable anime art pictures” for social media platforms.
The craze to get your customized “Ghibli Art” picture resulted in this ChatGPT feature gaining overnight stardom, so much so that its CEO, Sam Altman, claimed that their “GPUs are melting” and fans should really give them a break.
However, amid the craze and hullabaloo, a unified voice by artists across the world is growing steadily against OpenAI and its recent feature of Ghibli art. The artists have claimed that instant-generating tools by AI dilute decades and decades of hard work and effort put up by actual people, whose original works have been “lifted” (read stolen) by AI models, despite remuneration.
The first criticism against such “AI-generated animation” has come from none other than Hayao Miyazaki, the legendary Japanese animator and co-founder of Studio Ghibli , who has created some of Japan’s highest-grossing movies. Two years ago, Miyazaki had severely criticized AI-generated animation, stating that they are “an insult to life.”
Even more recently, several artists have showed their disgust against the recent AI trend on social media, calling it an insult to the life and works of several artists throughout the world.
One artist on Twitter has posted a picture of the tweet that was posted by Joanna Maciejewska, stating that the biggest problem with AI is that it is being used in the wrong direction. She went on to suggest implementing AI for dishwashing and laundry, allowing her to concentrate on her art and writing.
Another artist also shared his concerns, saying that the Ghibli AI art stuff is actually stupid and it’s disrespectful to him, and the original creators will never like art created by AI. He stated that it’s an insult for him and other artists, but people have gone so crazy for it that they are paying and creating it.
Even before the Ghibli Art feature was introduced by OpenAI, artists across the globe have been complaining about the alleged “fair use” policy of the company, where original works of content creators are being lifted to train AI models, thereby flouting copyright laws. In fact, OpenAI is currently facing several lawsuits filed by artists, journalists, and media houses, including The New York Times, over copyright issues.
Even on February 20, 2025, when an “AI Art auction” event was scheduled to take place at Christie’s Auction House in New York. However, thousands of artists protested against it, labeling it as theft.
