Sam Altman Jokes About OpenAI's Viral AI Tool – 'I Worked 10 Years On Superintelligence, And People Just Turn Themselves Into Ghibli Characters'

Scrolling through social media lately feels like stepping into a Studio Ghibli film. Thanks to OpenAI‘s latest ChatGPT update, people are transforming their selfies into whimsical, hand-drawn portraits inspired by the famed Japanese animation studio. 

The trend, dubbed “Ghiblification,” has taken over timelines as users share AI-generated versions of themselves, their pets, and even popular internet memes.

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Ghiblification takes over social media

Social media feeds are overflowing with these AI-generated images. From X to Instagram, people are reimagining themselves in the dreamy, soft-colored worlds that define Ghibli’s visual style. 

Germany-based entrepreneur and founder of FeatherFlow, Janu Lingeswaran, shared his excitement after using the tool to turn a photo of his 3-year-old ragdoll cat, Mali, into a Ghibli-esque character. “I really fell in love with the result. We’re thinking of printing it out and hanging it on the wall,” he said, according to The Associated Press.

Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman got in on the trend, updating his profile picture to a Ghibli-style portrait. His reaction on X? A mix of humor and irony:

 >be me 

> Grind for a decade trying to help make superintelligence to cure cancer or whatever 

> Mostly no one cares for first 7.5 years, then for 2.5 years, everyone hates you for everything 

> wake up one day to hundreds of messages: “Look, I made you into a Twink Ghibli style haha”

— Sam Altman (@sama) March 26, 2025

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While the trend has been fun for many, it’s also sparked a storm of debate over copyright and artistic integrity.

Not everyone is thrilled about AI recreating iconic artistic styles. Mumbai-based artist and founder of Studio Joog, Jugal Chudasama, told The Week, “These AI models are trained without the intellectual property owner’s consent.” Critics argue that mimicking a studio’s visual language without permission or compensation raises serious ethical concerns. 

Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki has long opposed AI art. In the 2016 NHK documentary "Hayao Miyazaki: The One Who Never Ends," Miyazaki called AI art “an insult to life itself.”

Legal experts say AI-generated images exist in a gray area of copyright law. The Center of Art Law says AI-generated outputs lack meaningful human creative input, and the necessary authorship required for protection under the Copyright Act.

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While specific works are protected, broader artistic styles aren’t—making it challenging for companies like Ghibli to take legal action. This gap leaves independent artists vulnerable to having their unique styles replicated without consent.

The art community remains divided. According to Interesting Engineering, artist Karla Ortiz called OpenAI’s use of Ghibli branding “an insult” and "exploitation." Others, especially in tech, argue that AI-generated art democratizes creativity by allowing people without formal training to produce visually striking work.

This isn’t the first time AI-generated content has sparked backlash. A fan-made AI-generated trailer for a hypothetical live-action version of the animated "Princess Mononoke" film went viral. That led to outrage from fans and animators who said it undermined the original film’s artistic vision. However, the trailer is not an official project, and there are no plans for a live-action adaptation.

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