ChatGPT Overloaded by AI Ghibli Trend—OpenAI’s CEO Calls for a Pause

OpenAI’s new AI picture generator, integrated into ChatGPT, has created a vast “Ghiblification” craze, with users flooding social media with AI-generated pictures of the iconic Studio Ghibli look. The craze was such that OpenAI’s servers were unable to deal with it, and CEO Sam Altman was forced to take to social media with a humorous but desperate message:

“Can y’all please take it easy on generating images? This is crazy. Our team needs sleep.”

The “Ghiblification” craze went viral when Seattle software engineer Grant Slatton shared on social media an AI-generated photo of his family in the signature Ghibli style. His tweet went viral, and the feature was experimented with by thousands of users on social media platforms like X, TikTok, and Instagram. As the craze picked up, OpenAI’s picture generator saw a record-breaking surge of traffic, with users eager to be reimagined as the hand-drawn, ethereal worlds inspired by Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro.

Early on, OpenAI was joining the craze, with even Altman himself getting into the act by swapping out his profile picture for a Ghibli-themed AI-generated one. But as the requests picked up, it was clear that OpenAI’s systems were being heavily stressed.

Altman continued on March 30, describing the demand as “biblical” and stating: “We just haven’t been able to catch up since launch, so people are still trying to keep the service running. Biblical demand, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

With OpenAI’s GPUs under great strain, Altman announced the firm would be rate limiting temporarily. Free-tier users had their AI-generated images capped at three a day as the team optimized for performance. In a follow-up social media posting, Altman playfully stated the GPUs of OpenAI were “melting” as a metaphor for the immense pressure the company was under.

While the “Ghiblification” craze has captivated users around the world, it has also brought controversy with AI art. Perhaps the most vocal critic of AI art is Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, already denouncing AI-generated images as “an insult to life itself.”

Legal experts asked if OpenAI was even allowed to train its models on the distinctive art style of Studio Ghibli. OpenAI has not confirmed if Ghibli images were used specifically, but the company has since introduced protections against the AI copying the work of individual artists, like active creators and well-known animation studios.

The deluge of AI-generated Ghibli-style images has also brought about broader debates on the future of AI creativity. The technology behind ChatGPT’s ability to produce images reflects the strength of AI for replicating the art of the past with remarkable fidelity, but also raises some serious questions:

And for those still interested in trying AI-generated images, other services such as Google’s Gemini, xAI’s Grok, and free services like Craiyon and DeepAI also offer the same feature without overwhelming one provider.