- An attempt to follow the trend of publishing images created with the help of artificial intelligence in the style of the famous Japanese animation studio
LONDON: An attempt by the Israeli military to embrace a social media trend that uses artificial intelligence-generated images in the style of a legendary Japanese animation studio has backfired spectacularly.
The internet has been flooded with Studio Ghibli-style images after ChatGPT maker OpenAI launched a new image generator last week.
The fad has heightened debates about the extent to which AI models infringe on artists’ copyrights. It also contrasts the painstaking work that goes into carefully crafting the beautiful hand-drawn films produced by Studio Ghibli with the culture of instant gratification fueled by social media and the rise of AI models.
Not to be left out, the Israel Defense Forces on Sunday posted four images on its social media accounts depicting various branches of the military in Ghibli style.
“We decided to follow this trend too,” the post says.
More like pic.twitter.com/d2k0IyHldA
— Dark Mode (@scottiev) March 30, 2025
What followed was a flurry of responses, many of which were angry, and many of which were humorous, condemning and ridiculing the post.
The photos were released as Israel stepped up its bombing of Gaza, where an operation launched in October 2023 has already killed more than 50,000 Palestinians and forced people to flee their homes.
Many responded to X with Ghibli-style AI-generated images depicting Israeli brutality in Palestinian territory.
The counter-animations showed Israeli soldiers abusing a blindfolded and handcuffed Palestinian child, and IDF soldiers pointing rifles at women and children amid destruction.
“Colonization of art too,” one answer reads, referring to Israel's construction of illegal settlements and its occupation of Palestinian lands.
Other users noted that Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of Studio Ghibli, is a staunch pacifist and that many of his films contain strong anti-war messages.
It is known that in 2003 he refused to go to the USA for the Oscar ceremony, where his work Spirited Away won an Oscar.
A 2016 video appears to show Miyazaki's disdain for AI-generated images. In a clip from the documentary, Miyazaki says he was “completely outraged” after watching an AI demonstration.
