Hayao Miyazaki’s rant against AI goes viral as Ghibli filter trends

Ghibli-fied selfies and classic film posters took over the Internet this week as DeepAI's GPT-4 introduced a new native image creation feature in its GPT-4o model, leading to a viral trend of Ghibli-style portraits on social media. Following OpenAI founder Sam Altman's decision to update his profile picture on X to a Ghibli-style AI-generated image, users began uploading their own pictures and requesting modifications into a unique anime style.

How does Miyazaki Hayao feel about Ghibli AI art?

The irony behind the viral Ghibli Ai art lies in that Hayao Miyazaki, the founder of Studio Ghibli, has been a longstanding critic of AI-generated art. An old video of Miyazaki condemning machine-made artworks as an “insult to life” has recently gained traction. In this footage, taken from a 2016 NHK documentary, Miyazaki asserts that AI lacks the ability to comprehend the pain and emotions that humans experience when creating art.

The video captures a moment where animators and tech specialists present Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki and Miyazaki with their latest AI model capable of animating images through learned human movements. During the presentation, the animators showcase a sequence that features a terrifying zombie generated by their AI, claiming that the machine can produce unsettling, unnatural movements suitable for horror games and similar genres. However, Miyazaki was not impressed by the demonstration. The 84-year-old master animator referred to a friend with a disability who struggles with basic gestures like high-fives due to stiff muscles. Reflecting on his friend's daily struggles, Miyazaki expressed his distaste for the AI-generated video, stating that it pains him to find it interesting.

"Whoever creates this stuff has no idea what pain is whatsoever. I am utterly disgusted. If you really want to make creepy stuff, you can go ahead and do it. I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all,” he asserted, adding, “I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself.” Studio Ghibli, which is renowned for its serene, thoughtful, hand-drawn animation, was established by Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Tokuma Shoten in 1985. Miyazaki is a two-time Oscar winner, recognized for "Spirited Away" (2001) and "The Boy and the Heron" (2024).

The resurfaced video has sparked renewed discussions about creativity and artificial intelligence, with Ghibli fans arguing that the current trend contradicts Miyazaki's philosophy for his studio.