 "Is your data at risk when you use ChatGPT’s Ghibli art generator?")
Ghibli-style art here, Ghibli-style art there, Ghibli-style art everywhere. Everywhere you look on social media, there’s a flood of photos turned into cutesy images after Open AI launched its Ghibli AI art generator.
Everyone’s jumped on the Studio Ghibli bandwagon — from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to US ‘First Buddy’ Elon Musk, who posted a Ghibli-style image of himself as Rafiki from The Lion King, holding up Doge like a future ruler.
But amid this deluge of Ghibli-style images, there’s a debate brewing: is ChatGPT stealing your face without your consent?
Here’s the truth about it.
What is ChatGPT’s Ghibli-style trend all about?
Last week, Sam Altman’s OpenAI rolled out its image-generation feature as part of its GPT-4o. This tool has amazed users with its ability to recreate the signature Ghibli aesthetic. For the unaware, it borrows inspiration from Japan’s animation studio, Studio Ghibli, which was founded in 1985 by noted directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.
After the launch, social media users took a liking to the images that the AI company created and soon after, a viral trend emerged. Everything from famous movie scenes to personal memories, proposals, and even moments of tragedy — transformed into Ghibli-style art, with users embracing the trend wholeheartedly.
Such has been the virality of the trend that on Thursday (March 27), OpenAI CEO Sam Altman even said that due to the demand for these images, “our GPUs are melting”.
And on Sunday (March 30), he asked users to “please chill on generating images,” calling the demand “insane” and saying that the “team needs sleep”.
can yall please chill on generating images this is insane our team needs sleep
— Sam Altman (@sama) March 30, 2025
What are the privacy concerns over ChatGPT’s Ghibli-style images?
But while everyone is excited, some concerns have emerged, especially on the safety and privacy of people who are using this AI tool. Many digital privacy activists have raised alarm bells over OpenAI’s latest Ghibli-style AI art generator with some arguing that it could be a clever ploy for OpenAI to gain access to thousands of personal images, potentially compromising user privacy.
As Proton, a platform that believes that the internet can only be better where privacy is a default, noted on X, “Once you share personal photos with AI, you lose control over how they are used since those photos are then used to train AI.”
The group also added on X that “data could be used for personalised ads and/or sold to third parties”.
Think this is a fun trend? Think again.
— Proton (@ProtonPrivacy) March 27, 2025
While some don't have an issue sharing selfies on social media, the trend of creating a "Ghibli-style" image has seen many people feeding OpenAI photos of themselves and their families.
Here's why that's a problem:
1/4 pic.twitter.com/o9VqS3Teoe
Experts also note that there is a possible risk of one’s images being misused by AI. For instance, uploaded photos of individuals might be used to generate misleading or defamatory content.
Elle Farrell-Kingsley, who is a British futurist, journalist and advocate for AI ethics, also issued a word of caution on using personal images for these Ghibli-style portraits. She wrote on X, “Uploading photos/thoughts to AI tools risks exposing metadata, location, even sensitive data — especially for kids.
“If it’s free, you (& your data) are the price. If you’re fine with that, great but it’s good to be aware,” she wrote.
Ghibli-style AI art is everywhere, but some concerns:
— Elle Farrell-Kingsley (@ellefkingsley) March 28, 2025
1️⃣Privacy: Uploading pics/thoughts to AI tools risks exposing metadata, location, even sensitive data—esp for kids.
⚖️If it’s free, you (& your data) are the price. If you're fine with that, great but it's good to be aware pic.twitter.com/l6HxjP3vtO
And Farrell-Kingsley isn’t alone in having this concern. Others have also noted that there’s a risk that these images, which are uploaded to the servers, are then freely accessible to countless others.
Luiza Jarovsky, co-founder of the AI, Tech & Privacy Academy, also noted that people who voluntarily upload these images give their consent to OpenAI to process them. “OpenAI’s privacy policy explicitly states that the company collects personal data input by users to train its AI models when users haven’t opted out,” she wrote on X.
She added that OpenAI is gaining free and easy access to personal or private images, and only they will have the originals. Social media platforms and other AI companies will only see the “Ghiblified” version.
Even Himachal Cyber Warriors, which claim to be a team of cyber security experts, warn of the dangers that come with using ChatGPT’s image generator.
⚠️ Think before you #Ghibli ⚠️
— Himachal Cyber Warriors (@hpcyberwarriors) March 29, 2025
That cute “Ghibli-style” selfie? It might cost more than you think.
🔎 Your photo could be misused or manipulated.
🧑💻 AI may train on it without your consent.
💰 Data brokers might sell it for targeted ads.
Stay cyber smart. Your privacy matters.… pic.twitter.com/aEjT3sHtTN
Experts have also stated that unlike a password, which can be changed, a compromised facial identity remains exposed permanently.
Are there copyright issues too?
But the issue of privacy isn’t the only one that has been flagged since OpenAI launched this tool. The viral Studio Ghibli-style AI images have also raised concerns about copyright infringement.
Legal experts say what OpenAI has done falls in a grey area. Evan Brown, an intellectual property lawyer at the US-based law firm Neal & McDevitt, told TechCrunch that style is not explicitly protected by copyright laws. This means that OpenAI does not technically appear to be violating laws by generating images that look like Studio Ghibli movies.
But Josh Weigensberg, a partner at law firm Pryor Cashman was quoted as saying that while “style” can’t be copyrighted, specific elements of an artwork could infringe copyright laws if too similar to the original.
And it seems that the founder of this style himself is not a fan of AI or generating images akin to his style of animation. In a 2016 video, Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki described AI-generated art as an “insult to life itself.”
“I am utterly disgusted,” he said in the video. “If you really want to make creepy stuff, you can go ahead and do it, but I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all.”
With inputs from agencies
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