A clip of Studio Ghibli boss Hayao Miyazaki expressing extreme disapproval at the use of AI is going viral online.
The sharing of the clip comes after the launch of the new GPT-4o model from OpenAI, which features updated image generation technology, prompting a trend of Ghibli fans to recreate pictures in the animation studio’s signature style.
Terminator 2 as a Ghibli movie. Let's Ghiblify everything! More epic shots in the comments🔥 pic.twitter.com/yaCgGYwgTb
— OuterWorldsAI (@OuterWorldsAI) March 27, 2025
Who would’ve thought Ghibli-fication would become AI’s killer use case
Currently running every meaningful photo in my life through OpenAI pic.twitter.com/bGixvwAvBq
— Victor Li (@viczli1) March 26, 2025
Just turned some of the most iconic Formula 1 moments into a Studio Ghibli-style anime scene using the new @chatgpt image tool 🤯🏁
AI meets Formula 1 nostalgia 👌#F1 #Anime #Ghibli #AIart #GPT4 #Aesthetic #Formula1 #MotorsportArt #f1fantasy pic.twitter.com/icNgXc00Qo
— Jozef Toth (@jojototh) March 26, 2025
The video includes footage of a meeting in 2016, where Miyazaki was shown an early AI image machine that had produced a zombie-esque creature dragging itself along the floor.
As he showed the machine to Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki, the presenter said: “This movement is so creepy and could be applied to a zombie video game. Artificial intelligence could present us grotesque movements that we humans can’t imagine.”
Miyazaki responded: “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.”
He continued: “I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself.”
When Suzuki asked the group, “So, what is your goal?” their response was, “Well, we would like to build a machine that can draw pictures like humans do.”
The clip ends with a voiceover from Miyazaki saying: “I feel like we are nearing the end of times. We humans are losing faith in ourselves.”
Fuck AI. Here's the real Ghibli. pic.twitter.com/ok9Tw4yXfG
— Hamako Shiomi (@HamakoShiomi) March 27, 2025
Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 by directors Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, along with Suzuki. It’s produced some of the most acclaimed animated films of all time, including My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Princess Mononoke (1997), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), and Spirited Away (2004), which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Their most recent film was 2023’s The Boy And The Heron, the English voice cast for which included Robert Pattinson, Florence Pugh, Willem Dafoe, Mark Hamill and Christian Bale.