OpenAI has just taken AI image generation to another level, and the internet is both amazed and heartbroken. While AI image generation has been around for a while with platforms like Midjourney and DALL-E, ChatGPT 4o now offers something even more advanced. It’s no longer just about generating photos from text prompts—now, you can easily upload your own images and transform them into different artistic styles.
One of the biggest trends taking over Twitter right now is using this AI technology to recreate images in the iconic Studio Ghibli style. Ghibli, led by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki, has crafted some of the most beloved animated films, each with a distinct artistic charm that has never been truly replicated until now.
People are uploading their photos, turning memes into AI-generated Ghibli-style art, and even transforming NFT avatars using image AI generation. It’s going viral, and even OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, has joined in by changing his profile picture to an AI-generated Ghibli version of himself.
For artists and animation fans, this trend feels like the ultimate heartbreak. If there was ever a filmmaker who would oppose AI-generated art, it’s Miyazaki himself. He once strongly criticised AI-generated animation, saying:
“I am utterly disgusted. I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. I strongly feel this is an insult to life itself.”
Yet, here we are—seeing AI-generated Ghibli-style art flood social media.
OpenAI seems to have realised the ethical dilemma here and has already introduced restrictions. If you try to explicitly request “Studio Ghibli style” in ChatGPT image generation, you might get a message saying that it can’t create it due to content guidelines. But, as always, people are finding workarounds by tweaking their prompts to achieve the same result.
Let’s be honest—this AI-powered image generation from photos is technically incredible. The ability to take a regular picture and transform it into AI-generated art is mind-blowing. But at the same time, it raises huge ethical concerns.
AI is advancing rapidly, and image generation with AI is becoming more and more convincing. The problem? AI-generated art is often seen as “good enough” by casual users, even if it lacks the soul of human creativity. The real impact isn’t on professional artists—it’s on everyday users who are happy to replace traditional animation and artwork with AI-generated content.
It’s devastating to see this unfold. As a fan of Studio Ghibli-style art, animation, and creative work in general, it’s hard to accept that AI is encroaching on these spaces. Can this trend be stopped? Right now, it doesn’t seem likely. But what we can do is continue supporting real artists, appreciating human creativity, and acknowledging the difference between AI-generated content and the true artistry that comes from years of dedication and skill.
AI is here to stay, but it’s up to us to decide how we engage with it. Do we embrace it blindly, or do we push for responsible use that respects the art and artists we love? The choice is ours.
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