Delfina Gómez, Mario Delgado, Mauricio Kuri, Xóchitl Gálvez, Arturo Zaldívar, Marko Cortés, Ricardo Monreal, the White House, and the Israel Defence Forces are among the politicians and governmental bodies that have crafted their images through artificial intelligence, emulating the beloved Studio Ghibli aesthetic. This move has sparked considerable debate regarding the environmental and artistic implications associated with such illustrations.

On Tuesday, OpenAI unveiled its latest image generator, touted as the most advanced to date. This tool features a native multimodal model that can produce precise, accurate, and photorealistic results. Notably, it has the ability to replicate the distinctive Japanese anime style seen in films such as “Spirited Away,” “My Neighbour Totoro,” and “The Boy and the Heron.”

Influencers, everyday users, “AI artists,” politicians, and government bodies swiftly embraced the trend, despite Miyazaki—the creator of the style and the source of inspiration for the AI—labeling such images as “an insult to life itself.”

The extensive adoption of ChatGPT for generating these illustrations has ignited a fervent discussion across social media platforms, centring on the ecological implications of their creation, alongside concerns regarding copyright safeguards and the effects on actual artists.

What is the water consumption involved in the generation of AI images?

AI models utilise water in an indirect manner. The servers responsible for training and operating these models produce considerable heat, necessitating methods to reduce their temperatures. This can be accomplished through the implementation of water cooling systems or air conditioning solutions.

A study conducted by the University of California in 2023 estimated that a single query to ChatGPT uses around 500 millilitres of water.

A recent study, aptly named “Making AI Less Thirsty,” suggests that the production of each AI-generated image requires around 2 to 5 litres of water, a figure attributed to the energy demands of servers and their cooling systems.

The sheer scale of that figure, when multiplied by millions of users, would undoubtedly lead to a considerable cumulative effect.

Discontent among artists

The ability of numerous artificial intelligences to replicate any artistic style while sidestepping copyright laws has certainly sparked concern within the art community.

In the previous year, over 11,000 artists came together to sign an open letter denouncing the practice of utilising human-created art to train AI without obtaining consent.

In 2016, Hayao Miyazaki, the esteemed co-founder of Studio Ghibli, voiced his strong disapproval of AI-generated animation, firmly stating that he would never integrate such technology into his artistic endeavours.

You may find it intriguing to explore the question: What exactly is Studio Ghibli, and why do so many illustrators aspire to be part of its creative legacy?

“I firmly believe it is an affront to existence itself,” the host remarked at that moment.

OpenAI, facing lawsuits from various media organisations, authors, and visual creators over claims of copyright infringement, informed CNBC on Wednesday that its objective is to “provide users with as much creative freedom as possible.”

Dubious application

In the midst of the viral spread of Ghibli-inspired images, two particular posts sparked even greater outrage across social media platforms. One issued by the White House and another released by the Israeli military.

The initial image depicts an immigration officer apprehending a tearful woman, recognised as Virginia Basora-Gonzalez, a deported migrant noted for her involvement in fentanyl trafficking, as stated by the White House.

“To witness something so brilliant, so magnificent, like Miyazaki’s work being obliterated to produce something so dreadful,” remarked Puerto Rican artist Karla Ortiz regarding this post.

“Completely indistinguishable from a neo-Nazi feed,” remarked Séamus Malekafzali.

Conversely, the Israel Defence Forces employed Ghibli-style imagery in an attempt to enhance their public image, which has sparked considerable criticism. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that Miyazaki’s oeuvre, along with the director himself, has embraced positions that are distinctly anti-war and anti-imperialist.