Last month, OpenAI introduced an advanced AI image generator driven by their GPT-40 model. They demonstrated its capability to transform any picture into something reminiscent of the celebrated animations produced by Japan’s renowned Studio Ghibli. This innovative feature rapidly sparked a widespread trend, captivating people across various platforms. the White House to Israel Defense Forces Ghibli-fying images. It also kicked off A significant public outcry occurred, considering that Studio Ghibli’s founder Hayao Miyazaki, who is renowned for his dedication to hand-drawn animation, once described AI-created artwork as “an affront to existence itself.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has ultimately addressed the criticisms. During his appearance on a YouTube podcast On Sunday, when speaking alongside Indian entrepreneur Varun Mayya, Altman described AI art generators as a “democratization” of the process of making art.
"I believe that the democratization of content creation has largely benefited society as a whole. While it hasn’t been entirely positive and does have some downsides, particularly concerning artistic expressions, overall, I feel it has proven advantageous," Altman stated.
Altman’s viewpoint isn’t particularly unexpected, considering it has mirrored the stance of AI proponents on platforms like X, Reddit, and various prominent social media outlets ever since Midjourney, OpenAI's DALL-E 2, and Stable Diffusion became available to the general public in 2022. It should be pointed out that this perspective is mostly lacking on Bluesky, where the user community differs. has been widely anti-AI.)
In the podcast, Altman continues by stating that although there could be "job displacement" because of the increase in AI-generated art, he feels that reducing entry hurdles and fostering greater "competition" by enabling individuals with varying skills to contribute is indeed a "significant advantage for society."
That point holds true only if you consider generative AI art to be valid. good For now, at least, the decision leans towards a negative response. Art created using these tools has been characterized as somewhat lacking. strangely uniform in aesthetic , devoid of emotion or purpose , or at the very least deeply unsettling. (That's without getting into the philosophical argument over what the purpose of what art produced without humans even is.)
Unfortunately, "good" or bad" may soon be besides the point. Low-quality "AI slop" is already crowding out Human-created content across various social media networks has been observed, with a recent report indicating that more than fifty percent of extensive articles on LinkedIn originate from artificial intelligence. Additionally, research conducted by scholars at the University of Pittsburgh revealed similar trends. found that test subjects found it impossible to differentiate between AI-composed poetry and works by renowned poets such as William Shakespeare, Lord Byron, Emily Dickinson, and T.S. Eliot. The participants believed that the AI-created verses were more probable to have been penned by humans, thus scoring them higher compared to pieces from these celebrated writers. This situation paints a rather grim picture.
During an interview with Maya, Altman posited that reducing obstacles to entering the world of art could yield outcomes akin to how effortlessly startups can now be established due to advancements in technology over recent years. However, his comparison breaks down when considering one significant aspect: OpenAI came into existence in 2015 through the efforts of several influential figures within the tech industry—such as Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman from LinkedIn, PayPal’s co-founder Peter Thiel (a notable financier of conservative causes), along with Altman himself, at that time heading up Y Combinator, which is widely recognized as Silicon Valley's premier startup incubator. Describing such well-backed entities like OpenAI merely as a “bunch of misfits” seems somewhat far-fetched coming from Altman.
The ongoing controversy surrounding AI-created artwork generated by OpenAI and its rivals is regrettable largely due to the fact that there is an extensive legacy of creatives employing AI and machine learning to intriguing effect—see Harold Cohen's AARON , dating back to the early 1970s. Nowadays, many artists utilize these tools to investigate elements of modern society, the essence of consciousness, and the fundamental principles of such technologies, as well as various other subjects.
A significant portion of his work was showcased last month in Hong Kong, featuring pieces by the Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen. investigated the boundaries and risks associated with nostalgia By developing a bespoke generator utilizing iconic Hong Kong movies, alongside Chinese artist Lin Jingjing designed an AI artist character For a collection of artworks that propose a more flexible concept of authorship, key elements include not only a clear intention but also an extensive exploration of the artistic mediums involved. This level of involvement significantly surpasses simply inputting something akin to “a Rembrandt-style painting in Studio Ghibl-esque fashion.”
Enthusiasts of artificial intelligence, on the other hand, argue that Miyazaki’s statement, sourced from a 2016 TV documentary in Japan, was misconstrued and not presented correctly within its full context. Below is the more complete context as reported: Indiewire :
After seeing a brief demo of a grotesque zombie-esque creature, Miyazaki pauses and says that it reminds him of a friend of his with a disability so severe he can't even high five. "Thinking of him, I can't watch this stuff and find [it] interesting. Whoever creates this stuff has no idea what pain is whatsoever. 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. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself."
Miyazaki's stance seems pretty unambiguous to me.
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