How OpenAI's Ghibli frenzy took a dark turn real fast

• OpenAI released a new image generator this week, sparking a meme frenzy and controversy.
• Users flooded social media with images in the style of Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli.
• The trend has fueled a debate on copyright, with some accusing OpenAI of exploiting artists' work.

From meme madness to copyright concerns, the release of OpenAI's new image generator this week has been nothing short of dramatic.

Soon after "Images for ChatGPT" was unveiled on Tuesday, an X user claimed OpenAI's 4o tool generated a "sexy man" but wouldn't create "sexy women." That caught the attention of OpenAI chief Sam Altman, who blamed a "bug" and promised a fix.

Then came the tsunami of images generated in the distinctive artistry of renowned Japanese animators Studio Ghibli. X users flooded the platform with images they Ghibli-fied of their own photos, popular memes, public figures like President Donald Trump, and scenes from films including "The Wolf of Wall Street."

Even Altman joined in on the hype and swapped out his profile picture with a Ghibli-style photo of himself. The White House's official X account jumped on the bandwagon too, and shared a Ghibli-fied photo of a woman arrested by ICE for illegally entering the US.

Ghibli tsunami

At first it seemed like a lighthearted moment where everything was reimagined through a Ghibli lens, until things took a darker turn.

OpenAI users Ghibli-fied images of historic events including JFK's assassination, the 9/11 attacks, and World War II.

OpenAI said Wednesday it started blocking requests for Ghibli-style images and that it was taking a "conservative approach" by refusing user attempts to create images in the likeness of a living artist. An OpenAI spokesperson told BI on Wednesday night that it still allowed users to generate images in "broader studio styles."

Savvy users found workarounds. BI's Pranav Dixit tried out the tool on Thursday using the paid-for version and found it would still generate several images in the Ghibli style.

OpenAI then decided to limit the number of images users of its free tier model could generate a day. Altman joked on X that OpenAI's servers were "melting" from the surge in demand.

It now appears users of the free version of ChatGPT are refusing image requests entirely, citing copyright rules.

Copyright questions

While the internet had its fun, a fierce debate about whether OpenAI was unfairly using the work of artists including Studio Ghibli's Hayao Miyazaki has begun.

Some X users criticized those Ghibli-fying images, arguing that the famed Japanese artist, renowned for his meticulous hand-drawn animations that can take years to create, poured his heart and soul into his work.

Ghibli is known for its animated features, which include "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Spirited Away."

Ed Newton-Rex, CEO of the nonprofit Fairly Trained, which certifies AI companies with fair training practices, described the controversy as a "takeoff moment for AI protests."

It's reminiscent of the ScarJo saga last year, when Scarlett Johansson threatened to sue OpenAI over its voice chatbot feature said to sound like the actor.

It begs the question of whether Ghibli-gate will be the latest copyright headache for OpenAI following a barrage of lawsuits from news outlets, authors, and musicians who say their work was used to train its models without consent.

As Newton-Rex put it in an X post on Thursday, "Obvious and egregious IP theft by AI companies has united authors and artists in outrage."

He added, "Suspect protests will only grow as the effects are felt by more & more professions."

There's also growing concern about what the new tool means for graphic designers and AI image-generator startups.

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said on X he was "not as amused as many others" as OpenAI's latest offering had "wiped out" some companies and had "serious implications for countless jobs."