The Ghibli AI trend is a perfect microcosm:

1. The raw content (images) is easily reproducible and has minimal intrinsic value


2. The context (who shares it, how it's framed, which platforms amplify it) creates the actual economic and social value


3. The creators of the original style (Studio Ghibli) receive some value through "increased interest" while

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One bitter irony of the faux-Ghibli meme is that Miyazaki is an avowed hater of A.I. technology. In an infamous clip, from 2016, he described an automated animation tool as “an insult to life itself.” That Miyazaki’s lifework is now grist for the generative-A.I. mill might be not only an insult but a copyright infringement. OpenAI argues that... See more

AI boosters argue that, while, generative technologies are new and shiny, they’re at root no different from the digital technologies an artist like Fincher uses, or the practical ones an artist like Carpenter used. They argue that AI is just another tool.

But I can’t get past the fact that, for something to count as a tool, it has to help you do... See more