The Ethics of AI-Generated Art

Published on: April 10, 2025

Birth of AI Art

The birth of AI art provides ample fodder for the controversy of whether artificial intelligence acts creatively and to what extent, concerning ethics and ownership in the wider destinies of human artists. DALL·E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion can produce stunning images in the style of some of the great masters or even entire movements. One of these possibilities painfully mocks the faintly whimsical, sketchy aesthetic of images generated by Studio Ghibli, whose films communicate subtle emotional currents and carry significant cultural weight. A remarkable technology: now that asks some troubling questions of machine involvement in a domain customarily considered the domain of humankind's creativity. Who holds rights to an image generated by an AI in the apparent style of Hayao Miyazaki? Is it fair game for AI to imitate artists who have spent decades mastering their craft? These questions go beyond the realm of theoretical debate; they're affecting the lives and livelihoods of bona fide creators as well as the principle of creative expression itself.

Ethics around Art and AI

Ethics surrounding AI art cross over into territories where property wars commence. The most fiercely debated would be concerning replacement of human artists. As artificial intelligence gets more sophisticated, businesses are adopting AI instead of putting an artist in commission-where AI presents a cheaper and quicker alternative. This demeaning attitude towards artists and their work has now permeated even into the artistic jobs of these who depend most on the money made from this kind of work. In addition, AI systems train using massive datasets, which, according to one of the allegations, contain copyrighted materials and were not utilized with explicit consent granted by their original creators. This raises the question as to whether AI art could be digital plagiarism. Surely, if the AI is using thousands of frames from their movies to produce imagery in the style of Studio Ghibli, then this would be either a tribute or an exploitation of that studio's legacy. In this case, the borderline between inspiration and appropriation becomes hazy.

More complexity arises concerning art's cultural and emotional dimension. Take artistically appealing and culturally bound Studio Ghibli films, with their concepts drawing from Japanese folklore and narrative traditions. They evoke feelings, too, resonating with humanity. This begs the question: Can an AI, having no life experience and emotional depth, express these feelings and produce such art? Of course, AI-based beautiful images are created through analysis and comparisons of patterns; however, it does not have the capacity to create objects possessed of that authenticity and meaning. Hence the question: can it even be called just-"art"-or will it just remain a transient imitation?

New developments vs Ethics

New developments in artificial intelligence prove promises and disadvantages ushered by its technology in the advancements like those inspired by Studio Ghibli. Through these technologies, one can give command through the clicking of a button to generate pictures that are reminiscent to some of the greatest Ghibli landscapes, creatures, and beautiful soft palettes. Some consider this a tribute to an influential studio. For others, it takes away the mythic persona that their works carry. The capacity of mass reproducing Ghibli-like imagery at the click of a button devalues the painstakingly made masterpieces of this studio and converts these creations into mere templates. The popularization of these commodities democratizes art making and gives way for amateurs to play and try out styles they would never try otherwise. However, such democratization has its price: it impinges upon the traditional notions of talent, skill, and effort in art, and can fatally threaten long years' worth of training and sweat.

Attention

This much, however, articulately gives birth to a sword with two sharp edges: it promises stimulating innovations and access to human-machine interaction. It also exposes humans to serious ethical dilemmas which must be weighed carefully. It is not all about the creative future of the rapidly progressing domain of artificial intelligence but also about the increasingly pressing questions which modern society must answer on coming to terms with authorship, authenticity, and the fate of creative industries. The Studio Ghibli-reminiscent updates on AI have their microscale version of this swelling argument: the lure and threat of entrusting machines with tasks once believed to be reserved for human interaction. By addressing these complex issues, we might learn better how to travel the rocky waters of technology and art in our increasingly digitized world.

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Cite this Article

Rasoulifar, A. (2025). The Ethics of AI-Generated Art. Societal & Behavioral Review. Retrieved from: https://www.ssbrc.com/the-ethics-of-ai-generated-art/