Are you a fan of the famed Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, whose Studio Ghibli made animated movies like “Spirited Away,” “Kiki’s Delivery Service” and “My Neighbor Totoro”?
Last week, OpenAI released an update to ChatGPT that improved its image-generation technology. As a result, any user who asked the platform to render an image in the style of Studio Ghibli could be shown a picture that would not look out of place in those films.
Soon, Ghibli-style images began flooding social media. Though many people posted selfies or family photos, some used the new feature to create renderings of violent or dark images, like the World Trade Center towers falling on Sept. 11 and the murder of George Floyd.
Did you see any of these images? Did you make any yourself? What do you think of them?
In “People Love Studio Ghibli. But Should They Be Able to Recreate It?” Madison Malone Kircher interviews people who raise concerns about what this technology means for creative work:
Kouka Webb, a dietitian who lives in TriBeCa, turned photos from her wedding into Studio Ghibli-esque frames. Ms. Webb, who is 28 and grew up in Japan, said seeing herself and her husband stylized in such a way was surprisingly moving.
“My Japanese mother passed away and I just feel really homesick,” she said. “I found a lot of joy in making those images. It was just a fun way to turn memories into a format that I grew up with.”
She posted the photos on TikTok, where she said she had received criticism from some commenters for using artificial intelligence instead of commissioning a human artist.
Online, some users have also voiced concerns about the use of the image-generating feature. In a 2016 documentary, Mr. Miyazaki called A.I. “an insult to life itself.” A clip from the film circulated on X after the filter’s sudden popularity. (Studio Ghibli-inspired A.I. art has been popular in the past, but the latest OpenAI offering is perhaps the most realistic iteration of Mr. Miyazaki’s style yet.)
As A.I. platforms have become more powerful and popular, a growing number of people in creative fields, including writers, actors, musicians and visual artists, have expressed similar frustrations.
“To a lot of people, having our art stolen, they don’t view it as anything personal — like, ‘Oh, well, you know, it’s just a style; you can’t copyright a style,’” Jonathan Lam, a storyboard artist who works in video games and animation, told The New York Times in late 2022 when discussing Lensa AI, a different image-generating platform. “But I would argue that for us, our style is actually our identity. It’s is what sets us apart from each other. It’s what makes us marketable to clients.”
In 2024, a group of over 10,000 actors and musicians, including the writer Kazuo Ishiguro, the actor Julianne Moore and the musician Thom Yorke of Radiohead, signed an open letter criticizing the “unlicensed use of creative works” to train A.I. models, including ChatGPT.
Students, read the entire article and then tell us:
Are you a Studio Ghibli fan? If so, what do you admire about the films?
What do you think of these A.I. images? Are they just a fun form of fan art, or are they more problematic? Does anything about them concern or raise questions for you?
Mr. Miyazaki called A.I. “an insult to life itself.” Does that matter to you in terms of how you think about these images? What about the fact that some have used this new ChatGPT feature to create renderings of violent or dark images, like the World Trade Center towers falling on Sept. 11? What have you noticed, heard or read that helps you formulate an opinion on this issue?
Jonathan Lam, a storyboard artist quoted in the article, said he would argue that, for artists, “our style is actually our identity. It’s what sets us apart from each other.” Do you agree, or are you more sympathetic to those who say you can’t copyright a style? Do you think it’s OK for A.I. platforms to profit off these creators’ work?
Do you think fears about A.I. are overblown? Or are artists rightfully worried about how the technology how might affect their livelihoods and art itself? How do you think individual artists and the industries they work in should respond?
Should work created with artificial intelligence be considered art — equal to what an artist might create with a pen, a camera, a brush or a lump of clay? Why or why not?
What is the value of art in our world in general? What role does it play in your own life? What might we gain from A.I.-created images? What might we lose?
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.