Notes From the Desk are periodic informal posts that summarize recent topics of interest or other brief notable commentary.
Studio Ghibli - AI's Latest Art Crisis
OpenAI’s new 4o image generator was released alongside a viral trending wave of Studio Ghibli-styled images initiated by this viral X post. But does this mark a great new advancement in societal creativity, or is it the destruction of value, culture, and meaning?
Everything that you loved for its uniqueness, craftsmanship, cultural significance, will be mass-produced until you despise seeing it. Will the future no longer know the mystical inspiration and wonder of seeing such crafts?
The quality of the 4o image generator appears to be a leap above others at the moment, with excellent instruction following. The internet very quickly became flooded with easily generated Studio Ghibli-styled memes and images of everything imaginable.
Within a few hours, something that was once somewhat niche, rare, and uniquely identifiable to one small studio in the entire world was made commonplace, with a billion people being granted the ability to instantly create an infinite amount of similar works with no skill investment whatsoever.
Sam Altman Promotes 4o Using Ghibli-Style Images
Sam Altman of OpenAI joined in the celebration of the acquisition and democratizing of Studio Ghibli’s unique style by putting it on full display using his own avatar and promoting it via additional posts.
Note: Sam’s mention of allowing creative freedom in the bottom-left post, and then the reply to the right. Has anyone ever seen a photograph like that before? Must be some incredible AI original creativity at work.
In 2023 I wrote in AI Art Challenges Meaning In A World Of Illusion:
“When we look upon a creation that appears stunning in its construction, do we marvel at the skill, effort and creativity of its creator in the same way we have done prior? Do we feel connection, inspiration or respect of the individual who produced the work? Or is there now far less significance awarded to the individual and simply some hollow amazement at the capability of the machine?”
It seems it has taken Ghibli for many to begin reflecting on these kind of questions. Will this be a turning point?
Studio Ghibli Will Benefit From AI?
Could this be overblown? Will we adapt? Will this, in the end, bring more attention to Studio Ghibli?
Some argue that Ghibli will now make even more money and this is nothing more than free advertising. Certainly, this has often worked well in some similar circumstances, where increased visibility increases demand. However, in other such events, such as music sharing, etc., there is absolute clarity for the original work. It is not yet clear how well AI will transfer attention to the original or instead capture it for its own purposes.
Furthermore, artistry is about more than just money; it is always about meaning. Did anyone ask Ghibli if this is the kind of exposure they wanted? Did they want the niche uniqueness to be exchanged for money, so that it can be commoditized to the point it is indistinguishable from everything else? It is deeply ironic that those who defend their use of Ghibli as a tribute to Ghibli ignore the perspective of the co-founder, Hayao Miyazaki, of Ghibli Studio.
Who Benefits And Who Is Destroyed?
And who will make the money from the machine? There will now be billions of Etsy designs that will have nothing to do with the original studio.
However, Studio Ghibli may still benefit monetarily, as they are well-established and their uniqueness is more than just the visual style, as it is also the story telling. For now, many know the origin of this style of work and why it is loved. However, what does this mean for any future artists who aspire to create a unique style that can be ripped away with such ease before they are known.
The reality is that millions of images are created every day now without any attribution to the original work and style. Nobody knows the origin. The original creators will never be known to most of the public. Furthermore, these substantial volumes machine generated works crowd out the original works. AI is largely a dominant medium now for many image repositories and sharing sites.
But We Have Always Copied Artist Styles
But we could always copy styles before? Yes, with two important differences. It took effort, so it wasn’t mass-produced, and involved some variation of style. Sometimes it is said “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” However, is it so in this case?
When imitation requires significant investment in both effort and time, has at least some variation with its own take on the style, and includes giving credit to the inspirational works, in that context it often is perceived as a great compliment.
The distinct difference AI has added to this equation is echoed below by The Intrinsic Perspective and Zy on X. There is no longer a smooth curve of progressing skill and capability. Humans can still be the best, but now it takes an order of magnitude more effort to stand out amongst the machines versus simply using the machines.
And the future has never been more uncertain. Even if you want to put in the hours and years to develop a unique skill, by then, what will AI be capable of, and will anyone care anymore about what you can create as a mere human?
Just Surrender To The Machine, Use AI
By now, many are probably screaming that these are Luddite perspectives. Embrace the technology, leverage it to create even greater works. The problem is that you can never escape the ease of AI training and replication. Sure, you can use AI, but that doesn’t protect any kind of unique space of creativity you attempt to create.
All the work you put into anything going forward might only be a single prompt away from someone else replicating it with no effort required.
And this is exactly what we see Cody Schneider advocating above. Immediately after the release of the 4o image generator, Cody suggests using it to replicate your own version of all the great ad styles created on Pinterest. Something I called the “coming AI Clone Wars” back in 2023.
Are There Any Solutions?
There have been ideas about embedding provenance information into AI-generated images. However, most of this is in the context of identifying its source as a way of identifying deepfakes. Not much has been discussed for the attribution of original work, and currently, the models aren’t capable of identifying the specific training sources that are used in each generation.
Conceptually, it might be helpful if every such image contained a popup of information attributing original works. It wouldn’t solve everything, by any means, but would be better than the current state. But implementation is highly problematic, as a generated work could be an amalgam of hundreds or more of specific works.
Implications For The AI Labs
Has AI cured your disease yet? Are you living on UBI and spending your days on your favorite creative hobbies? No? Instead, AI is spending its days on your favorite creative hobbies while you are still working.
Imagine what the AI labs would do if they could build the superintelligence. What would they take when they have the power to take everything? They are currently arguing for the abolishment of copyright in regards to AI, while simultaneously accusing DeepSeek of using OpenAI data without permission. Apparently, Studio Ghibli is simply the required sacrifice on our quest for AGI.
Finally, Is AI The Threat Or Society Itself?
I'm more concerned by a society that can't perceive what is lost than I am about the AI instrument. For whatever problems AI creates, it is more of a reflection of ourselves. Often an accelerant of our problems, but still, it is our problems.
A former society that once rejected Milli Vanilli for lip-syncing, as it was not authentic, would not have accepted where we are going. Our culture has changed. Inauthenticity is far more broadly accepted. We have already been trending in this direction for some time, and AI is giving us a substantial boost.
And how much of this behavior is driven by social media engagement? Would we care more about being authentic if we weren’t in such competition of attention? Never underestimate what will be done for attention. This reached 3.5M views on X. If it can be grifted, it will be grifted.
It is only a minority that knows what is lost when culture changes. There aren't many still around that know the peace of mind that existed prior to social media. At some point, most won't know what authenticity was like before AI.
But it is either a blessing or a curse, depending on one’s point of view, that hedonic adaptation will essentially ensure that everything lost is forgotten and never missed again as we move forward in our blissful ignorance of what was.
The impact of this trajectory is beyond artists; it is all of us. It is the challenge of retaining the existing mystery and wonder that is part of our culture of humans doing human things. We will create more than we can ever consume and think about it less than ever before.
I will leave you with these words to consider in the image below. Originally written two years ago while first experimenting with AI-generated images.
Mind Prison is an oasis for human thought, attempting to survive amidst the dead internet. I typically spend hours to days on articles, including creating the illustrations for each. I hope if you find them valuable and you still appreciate the creations from human beings, you will consider subscribing. Thank you!
No compass through the dark exists without hope of reaching the other side and the belief that it matters …
Edits:
2025-03-29 - Minor updates for clarity. Added final image. Short section “Are there any solutions”.
AI represents the logical culmination of the drive toward maximizing science and technology -- for whatever purpose, ostensibly to usher in happiness and the coveted manageable and sustainable future. As AI becomes more powerful it will inevitably draw more and more people away from God, which is what the plan was in the beginning. Enlightenment Philosophy, which gave rise to our technological society, turned away from God to start with. But it won't work: the endeavor is no different than the attempt to create the Tower of Babel. The End is near.
It will be an idol, in the traditional sense, as in good old-fashioned idolatry. The motivational energy for it won't be coming from man (mankind) though -- it will be the same thing as it's always been: energy and intent deriving from the Powers of Darkness. It's basically going to usher in neopaganism, except that, in ancient times, there was a choice possible, whereas now, as the AI becomes more powerful, there won't remain even the slightest residue of choice. The AI will crush all manifestations of free will. AI development looks fairly "neutral" on the surface, but so does all manner of technological "progress." At the root is a cunning plan to divorce man from God.