People love Studio Ghibli, but should they be able to copy it?

NEW YORK: Animated movies, like those from famed Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, are not made in a hurry.

- MADISON MALONE KIRCHER

The intricate hand drawings and attention paid to every tiny detail can make for a slow, potentially years long process.

Or, you could simply ask ChatGPT to turn any photo into a facsimile of Mr Miyazaki's work in just a few seconds.

Many people did precisely that recently after OpenAI released an update to ChatGPT on April 1 that improved its image generation technology. Now, a user can ask the platform to render an image in the style of Studio Ghibli could be shown a picture that would not look out of place in the films My Neighbor Totoro or Spirited Away.

On social media, users quickly began posting Ghibli style images. They ranged from selfies and family photos to memes. Some used ChatGPT's new feature to create renderings of violent or dark images, like the World Trade Center towers falling on Sept 11, 2001, and the murder of George Floyd.

Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, changed his profile picture on the social platform X to a Ghibli-fied image of himself, then posted a Ghibli about the AI's sudden popularity and how it had overtaken his previous, seemingly more important work.

Koola Webb, a dietitian who lives in New York's Tribeca neighborhood, turned photos from her wedding into Studio Ghibli-esque frames. Ms Webb, who is 28 and grew up in Japan, said seeing herself and her husband styled in such a way was surprisingly moving.