The explosion of the trend to generate images in the unique style of Studio Ghibli through artificial intelligence (AI) on platforms like ChatGPT has created an unprecedented viral phenomenon, attracting both praise and controversy. However, this overwhelming success of Ghibli on OpenAI's tool has triggered a series of implications that go beyond the creative realm.
From server crashes to environmental sustainability issues, the rise of Ghibli-style image generation forces us to reflect on the limits of technology, intellectual property, and the environmental impact of AI. Below, ITD Consulting analyzes this Ghibli frenzy that broke the internet.
The emergence of the Ghibli trend: A tribute or an appropriation?
On March 25, 2025, OpenAI released an update to its AI-based image generator, allowing users to create high-quality images in the distinctive style of Studio Ghibli. The works of this Japanese studio, Studio Ghibli, globally recognized for their visual beauty and emotional storytelling, include classics like My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Grave of the Fireflies.
With this new tool, users could upload any photo or image and transform it into a piece that mimicked Ghibli’s unmistakable aesthetic. The viralization of this Ghibli trend was almost immediate. Within days, social media was flooded with images created in this Ghibli style, from ordinary people to celebrities and public figures who joined the phenomenon.
Among the subjects users recreated were urban landscapes to fictional characters transformed into “totoros” and “spirits” in the style of Spirited Away by Ghibli. The scale of the Ghibli phenomenon was such that ChatGPT's image generation tool began to experience excessive demand, causing its servers to crash.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, reacted to the avalanche of users transforming their photos into Ghibli style and commented on his X account: "It's so fun to see people enjoy the images on ChatGPT, but our GPUs are melting. We're going to temporarily introduce usage limits while we work on making it more efficient." As a result, OpenAI implemented restrictions on the free version of its platform, limiting users' ability to generate more Ghibli-style images.
This collapse was not isolated. It revealed not only the impressive popularity of the tool but also vulnerabilities in the infrastructure of AI platforms, which, although powerful, still need to quickly adapt to massive global demand shifts, such as the one generated by the Ghibli style. This situation highlights the technological gap that must be resolved for AI platforms to handle the load of massive use of their applications, especially in viral phenomena like Ghibli.
Technical issues: Server crash and usage limits
The speed at which the Ghibli trend spread left OpenAI with no room to adjust its servers effectively. The platform's computational resources, especially the graphical processing units (GPUs), couldn't handle the enormous number of Ghibli-style requests.
This resulted in the temporary shutdown of free Ghibli image generation services, triggering widespread frustration among users who couldn’t access the tool. To manage the demand generated by the viralization of Ghibli, OpenAI implemented a limit system in the free version of ChatGPT, something that has been criticized by many but understood by others.
The company is working on optimizing its infrastructure to cope with the growing demand for its AI tools, but this incident has also sparked a broader debate about the capacity of current systems to manage the volume of use from an expanding global community.
Despite the infrastructure optimization that OpenAI promises, this incident also highlights the inherent challenges of the rapid growth of these platforms and the expectations users have regarding service availability. The question of how to balance global accessibility with the technical sustainability of these platforms is becoming increasingly relevant.
The fact that this Ghibli phenomenon has been so viral and massive also raises questions about OpenAI’s business model. How can tech companies ensure the stability of their services when there is such volatile usage, like the one generated by Ghibli images? This is a challenge many tech platforms face, especially those that rely on large amounts of resources to provide free or accessible services to a wide audience.
The debate on intellectual property and creators' rights
The Ghibli phenomenon has not only generated excitement but also sparked a strong debate within the creative community. Many artists, animators, and illustrators have expressed concern over the use of artificial intelligence to generate images that mimic the style of creators and studios like Studio Ghibli, without any compensation for their work.
The central question is whether it is fair for tools like ChatGPT to use copyrighted works to train their AI models. While AI-generated images do not directly copy Ghibli's works, the system "learns" from a vast database that includes copyrighted images.
This has led artists and copyright advocates to question the ethics of allowing AI to "imitate" the aesthetic of an iconic creator like Studio Ghibli without limitations. This debate highlights one of the most complex issues of the digital age: the use of copyrighted data and images to create new works through artificial intelligence.
AI models like ChatGPT learn patterns of artistic and visual styles from massive data, which can be interpreted as a form of "inspiration" or even "cultural appropriation," as has happened with Ghibli. This is particularly problematic when AI tools generate products that can be marketed without proper compensation for the original creators, like Ghibli.
In many cases, artists like Ghibli feel deprived of their right to control the use of their style and creativity. This is a topic that has been widely debated, not only by creators but also by platforms that use these algorithms, which now face the need to review their usage policies and how they handle copyrighted images.
The use of AI also raises questions about the notion of authorship in digital creation. If an AI generates a visual work based on a creator’s style, who is the true author of the work? The human creator who provided the idea or the machine that executed it? This is a debate that is far from being resolved and continues to generate tensions between artists and large tech platforms.
The environmental impact: Water and energy consumption
One of the most alarming aspects of the popularization of AI is its environmental footprint. AI image generation is not a process without cost to the environment. According to studies from the University of Colorado Riverside and the University of Texas Arlington, each image generated by AI consumes between 0.5 and 2 liters of water, due to the energy resources required by the data centers running the AI algorithms.
In the case of the Ghibli trend, the estimated water consumption during the first five days of the trend’s viral spread reached 216 million liters. This massive water expenditure from the Ghibli trend occurs in a context where the data centers responsible for hosting and running AI models require considerable amounts of electricity, which contributes to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions and greater pressure on natural resources.
The ecological footprint of artificial intelligence is not limited to water and electricity. The data centers that house these models also generate large amounts of heat, requiring cooling systems that consume even more energy. As demand for these technologies continues to grow, as seen with the viralization of Ghibli, it is likely that these negative impacts will be amplified.
This type of consumption not only has implications in terms of water but also in the growing demand for electricity, a resource that is mostly produced from non-renewable sources. AI, especially in its massive use, could become one of the largest energy consumers in the coming decade. The question that arises is whether this technological advancement is truly sustainable in the long term, and what changes need to be made to mitigate its environmental impact.
A sustainable solution? Seeking fairness and balance
It is clear that the popularization of AI, especially in the creation of images and art, such as in the case of Ghibli, raises several ethical, environmental, and economic challenges. However, it is also true that artificial intelligence has the potential to be a powerful tool to foster creativity and democratize access to artistic creation.
While the generation of Ghibli-style images has sparked controversy, it has also allowed more people to get involved in digital art and explore new forms of expression. For AI to continue evolving sustainably, it is necessary for tech companies to take measures to mitigate its environmental impact and respect the rights of creators, such as Studio Ghibli.
In terms of sustainability, OpenAI and other platforms could explore ways to make their data centers more energy-efficient, using renewable energy sources and optimizing algorithms to reduce resource consumption. From a copyright perspective, it is essential that platforms using AI to generate content consider artists' concerns and find ways to ensure creators are adequately compensated.
The current business model of generative AI is at a crossroads, and platforms will likely need to implement new policies that favor both creators and users.
The influence of the trend in the political sphere
The Ghibli phenomenon was not limited to social media and the creative industry. The viralization of Ghibli also reached the political sphere. Political figures from Mexico, such as Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón, Ricardo Monreal, Xóchitl Gálvez, Marko Cortés, and Samuel García, among others, joined the trend, sharing their own Ghibli-style generated images.
This massive support for the Ghibli trend showed how artificial intelligence and viral trends can influence public perception and digital culture, even in the political realm. Globally, the impact of the Ghibli trend was particularly significant for Israeli defense, as Studio Ghibli is known for its pacifist stance and opposition to war conflicts, which sparked controversies about how this digital trend might align with certain political ideologies and cultural values.
The convergence of politics and technology in this context highlights how digital trends can transcend the boundaries of artistic creation and become a tool for political communication. This phenomenon of digital appropriation also demonstrates how AI is influencing the way politicians communicate with their constituents, using cutting-edge technologies to connect with a younger and more digitally connected audience.
The debate surrounding the implications of generative AI, such as the one that produces Ghibli-style images, is just the tip of the iceberg in a much broader discussion about the future of creativity, intellectual property, and the environment. While artificial intelligence technology offers incredible potential to democratize creativity and enable new forms of artistic expression, it also presents a series of ethical, legal, and environmental challenges that need to be addressed.
We are likely to see an increase in the regulation of AI technologies in the coming years as governments and international institutions try to strike a balance between innovation and the protection of creators' rights and the environment. The AI industry will need to collaborate with artists, regulators, and environmentalists to ensure that technological advancement occurs in a responsible and sustainable manner.
The growing popularity of generative technologies raises the urgent need for legal frameworks to evolve and adapt to address issues of copyright, resource usage, and AI regulation. Digital creativity stands at a crossroads, and the future will depend on how we manage the balance between technological advancements and the ethical implications of their mass use.
The Ghibli phenomenon is just the beginning of a new era of digital creation, but it is also a reminder that we must be aware of the consequences of the unchecked use of such powerful and disruptive technologies. If you want to learn more about AI innovations and stay up to date with new implementations that go viral, like the Ghibli phenomenon, contact us at [email protected]. Tenemos un equipo tecnológico para asesorarte con las mejores herramientas de vanguardia.
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