Social media is abuzz with memes, scenes, and photos in the Studio Ghibli style, thanks to the new AI feature on OpenAI's ChatGPT. From netizens to businesses, influencers, political parties, and leaders, everyone is jumping on the creative bandwagon.
Studio Ghibli art, pioneered by the Japanese studio, refers to images that feature pastel and muted colour palettes and elaborate details.
Initially, the AI he feature was available to only ChatGPT premium users, but OpenAI has now rolled out this native AI image generation feature to free users also.
While unveiling the Studio Ghibli feature on March 26, the AI giant had announced,"4o image generation has arrived. It's beginning to roll out today in ChatGPT and Sora to all Plus, Pro, Team, and Free users."
Also read: Is it safe to upload your photos on ChatGPT for Studio Ghibli makeover?
The announcement triggered a frenzy on the internet, with people turning their own photographs into animated Ghibli-style images. OpenAI CEO Sam Atlman took to X to say that the GPUs were “melting” due to large-scale use of the feature.
“It's super fun seeing people love images in chatgpt. but our GPUs are melting. we are going to temporarily introduce some rate limits while we work on making it more efficient. hopefully won't be long! chatgpt free tier will get 3 generations per day soon,” Altman announced.
How to create free Ghibli-style images using ChatGPT?
If you are a free user, here is a step-by-step process to create Studio Ghibli-style images through prompt:-
- STEP 1: Log on to the ChatGPT website or tap on the app.
- STEP 2: Upload your photo by clicking on the ‘+’ sign at the bottom left corner of the prompt box.
- STEP 3: Enter the text ‘Ghiblify this’ or ‘turn this image in Studio Ghibli theme’
- STEP 4: You will get your desired image in Ghibli Style. Download the image on your device.
If you are a free user, here is a step-by-step process to create Studio Ghibli-style images through prompt:-
- STEP 1: Log on to the ChatGPT website or tap on the app.
- STEP 2: Upload your photo by clicking on the ‘+’ sign at the bottom left corner of the prompt box.
- STEP 3: Enter the text ‘Ghiblify this’ or ‘turn this image in Studio Ghibli theme’
- STEP 4: You will get your desired image in Ghibli Style. Download the image on your device.
Though many loved what AI did with the posters of movies and iconic moments, a large section of people and fans of Miyazaki termed the trend as nothing short of plagiarism.
"Since this utter garbage is trending, we should take a look at what Hayao Miyazaki, the founder of Studio Ghibli, said about machine created art," wrote a user while sharing an old interview of Miyazaki reacting to AI generated animation.
In the short clip, Miyazaki said, "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. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself."
Privacy concerns over Ghibli trend
Not everyone is on board, though. Digital privacy advocates on the social media platform X are raising alarms, suggesting that OpenAI may be using this trend as an opportunity to collect thousands of personal images for AI training. While many users are enjoying the new feature, critics warn that they could unknowingly be providing OpenAI with fresh facial data, raising significant privacy concerns.
The trend has also sparked ethical debates around artificial intelligence tools trained on copyrighted creative works, and the potential impact on the future livelihoods of human artists.