It was only a matter of time before Artificial Intelligence managed to recreate artistic styles. And now what? Studio Ghibli, the renowned Japanese animation studio, is now protesting the application that allows anyone to recreate the studio’s distinctive animation style from any photograph. Can a style be patented? Can a combination of colors be patented? What is the cost of technology evolving to the point where the artist becomes dispensable?

Years ago, when Hayao Miyazaki, founder of Studio Ghibli, learned that AI might eventually replace animators by imitating any artistic style, he condemned this apocalyptic moment in history, calling it “an insult to life.” Are machines the ones making the artist dispensable, or is this the work of those who build and program these machines? Should we pay close attention to Studio Ghibli’s protest after seeing users around the world employ this artificial intelligence to recreate their own photographs in the Ghibli style?

Ultimately, I believe that such use of the studio’s artistic legacy should lead to a system of compensation that allows its artists to benefit from their own work. But does a reproduction owe anything to its source of inspiration? And one final question: How far will AI Art go?

Miyasaki – Ink on Paper #directober2023

originally posted on March 28, 2025