It’s not a pen, it’s a principle: About Ghibli AI.

Artificial Intelligence has been there for a while, and although there are so many voices of artists, writers and creatives, we still have a huge number of people who use it without a second thought. People who don’t think of the damage, saying “Get used to it, this is how it is now”. No. I don’t think I will.

The whole situation of ChatGPT allowing users to generate Ghibli-like images struck me as a distinction between the fans.
One group of people loves and respects Ghibli for everything that it is: not only hard-worked animation but also all the values that Ghibli stands for: creativity, humanity and ecology.
The other group are just “fans”. These are people who enjoyed the film’s aesthetic, perhaps even shed a tear, but have never gotten invested in the meaning of the art and the messages it holds.

To be honest, I’ve never thought that the second group existed until now. I thought Ghibli films made it clear where they stood. And if not through films, tons of sources explain that from a real-world point of view.
But here we are now. On a battlefield between people who enjoy or defend the use of Ghibli AI “art” and those who utterly hate it.

Ghibli has never been just about the art style. It is iconic, but it wasn’t what everybody loved about these films in the first place. It was about the stories. About the emotions and the characters. Ghibli allowed us to find ourselves in this magical world where nothing is only good or bad, to see the third option when nothing felt right. And it was made in a unique way with all the beauty you can muster.

Hayao Miyazaki, the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, has always been strongly against computer-generated images. He’s been very cautious with the progress and digital art. He might be a person of a bygone era, turning 84 this January, but his perception has always been clear. The films are first and foremost hard work. No shortcuts.

I know that Ghibli isn’t pure and innocent, all companies have their skeletons in the closet. But they have stood for a few principles since their first day and they’ve kept them still.

Ghibli’s stories are focused on the human condition, the connection to the Earth, passion, love, and spirituality. They continue to highlight ecology and the balance that needs to be sustained for humanity to endure. They still advocate for these principles. They don’t shuffle them to appeal to anyone. That I admire.

This is why the whole AI situation grew so big so fast. I am not a fool, I know a lot of people don’t care about any of this. Most of the users focus on the easy acquirement of the resource, the fun and that “they create something”. They don’t think that every single usage of AI takes plenty of resources and damages the Earth even more. We live in such a world that we care about plastic straws but ignore how much all the servers drain the Earth. Especially those that keep the Artificial Intelligence going. A single image generation requires a lot of electricity and water This is disappointing but the world has already disappointed me enough to make me a bitter cynic. I’m at peace with those.

But I can’t be at peace with people who steal the Ghibli art and consider themselves “fans”. And try to explain themselves by saying “But it’s just for myself”. Well, you already shared that on social media, so how exactly is it for yourself?

If that isn’t ironic enough, I wonder if these people realise that the same ChatGPT that stole the art of Ghibli to feed the neural networks is also stealing all the photos that people give it to look like Ghibli. It is straightforward, right?

I feel I have grown so old in recent years. I started to resent all the digital improvements. They all seem to be used against good people trying just to be. All this “progress” is something that my brain just can’t comprehend. I feel I’m being used unconsciously, following rules I can’t understand.
I feel this should be a wake-up call for all who don’t care. For those who use these for fun. It might make you happy for a second, but it is still a soulless act resembling something bigger. Something that can’t be made without a heart. So, if you crave so much to replicate something, why don’t you do something to make it precious? Like asking actual artists. With a heart and a smile. Why not use a process that takes time, creates memories and offers some human connection?
Just like in Ghibli films.

Now, excuse me, I need to put on My Neighbour Totoro and find myself there. Just in my imagination. Or perhaps that’s enough.