The ChatGPT Studio Ghibli Trend Weaponizes ‘Harmlessness’ to Manufacture Consent

In late March, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that the company’s flagship AI platform, ChatGPT, could produce high-quality images under its new version GPT-4o. Within hours, a Seattle software engineer used the new capabilities to transform a family photo into the style of Studio Ghibli films like Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away. The trend quickly went viral, with Altman and other OpenAI staffers posting Ghiblified images. As users overloaded OpenAI server