With the rapid advancement of AI-generated art, controversy over its ethics and legitimacy has grown as new AI image generators can now mimic the styles of famous artists.

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio known for its films featuring stunning animation and compelling stories. Studio Ghibli is famous for movies like Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Princess Mononoke, all of which are artistic marvels in animation. Studio Ghibli has set itself as a prominent figure in the animation industry since 1985, putting itself on par with other larger American studios, such as Disney and DreamWorks.

On March 25, OpenAI introduced GPT-4o, its most advanced image generator. This inspired many to generate images using the art styles of other artists, sparking more controversy about the ethics of AI art, especially when it mimics another artist’s style. A few styles used in the trend include art styles from shows like Rick and Morty, South Park, and most notably, Studio Ghibli.

Studio Ghibli’s art style is one of the most popular styles used in this recent trend, and the use of Studio Ghibli’s iconic style caused more controversy than the usage of other styles, primarily because of the strong views Hayao Miyazaki, Co-founder and Honorary Chairman of Studio Ghibli, has spoken out against the use of AI in animation. “I am utterly disgusted,” said Miyazaki after being presented with a demo of an AI-generated animation of a humanoid creature dragging itself along the ground. “I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself.” Miyazaki has expressed his opinions on strictly using traditional, hand-drawn animation methods, so many view the recreation of his signature animation style using AI as incredibly disrespectful. “It’s basically cheating,” said senior Adreanna Castaneda, “and it’s honestly disrespectful to copy someone’s art style that took years to master, especially using AI”.

AI-generated Studio Ghibli art has also been used for political purposes. On March 28, the official White House X account posted a picture of Virginia Basora-Gonzalez, an illegal migrant, being arrested by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer. This sparked major backlash, with many viewing it as disrespectful to not only Basora-Gonzalez but also to people affected by deportations. “It’s just unprofessional and disrespectful to people affected by the recent deportations, it shows that they really don’t care about them,” said sophomore Ashley Holland. Fans of Studio Ghibli also saw the post as disrespectful to Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, as their works are known for being more lighthearted and non-political. “It’s insulting to associate something like that with something as sacred and innocent as Ghibli, not only to immigrants but to Studio Ghibli themselves,” stated senior Avery Paul.

Some say that AI can help make getting into art easier for beginners, but others argue that art is meant to be difficult, and the struggle and gradual process of improvement is what makes art more beautiful and significant; taking shortcuts defeats the purpose of making art in the first place. AI could be a useful tool in the art industry, but many view it as cutting corners when overused, as AI-generated art lacks the humanity and emotion behind art made by people. If humans continue to rely on AI, people fear that true, genuine art will die out, since humans can’t compete with the efficiency of artificial intelligence.