Recently the viral AI-generated Ghibli trend took over the world like wildfire. Leveraging OpenAI’s GPT-4o image generator, users across the globe turned pictures into a Studio Ghibli-style iteration. From viral movie scenes, and iconic moments in history, to everyday snapshots, users were generating a Ghibli version of everything. Notably, several notable personalities like celebrities and political figures took part in the trend.

The fleeting trend raised an important debate around AI and art. While several users hailed it as revolutionary, others labelled it as copyright infringement and undermining of artists’ efforts. Amid this, Studio Ghibli’s co-founder Hayao Miyazaki’s 2016 comment about AI in animation being “an insult to life itself” went viral. Miyazaki is the creator of several celebrated Ghibli films like ‘Spirited Away,’ ‘Grave of Fireflies,’ and ‘The Boy and the Heron’ among others.

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For the unversed, in his 2016 documentary, the veteran filmmaker openly expressed his displeasure with using artificial intelligence in creating art. When a demonstration of AI-generated animation was shown, Miyazaki rejected it. He said, “I am utterly disgusted… I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself.” Moreover, his concluding words were, “I feel like we are nearing the end of times. We humans are losing faith in ourselves.”

Recently, YouTuber Varun Mayya probed OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman about Miyazaki’s statement during his podcast appearance. The 39-year-old responded, “I think the democratization of creating content has been a big net win for society. It has not been a complete win. There are negative things about it, for sure, and certainly, it did something about the art form.”

y’all are not ready for images v2…

— Sam Altman (@sama) April 1, 2025

Altman added, “But I think on a whole, it’s been a win. And this is something that I very deeply believe about the power of technology, which is giving everyone more tools, making things easier, lowering the barriers to entry, does significantly increase the number of people that can contribute to society, and we all benefit from that.”

Also Read: The problematics of the viral ‘Ghibli’ trend undermining creativity and values

Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki founded Studio Ghibli in 1985. The animation studio is a towering presence in the animation sector, boasting credits for some of the finest animated stories the world has ever seen.