No one owns the likeness of a "style". Art would not be able to function that way at all. As for training data, I find that to be the issue as they're using copyrighted material, and as Meta avowed, it may be pirated.
Sure, nobody owns it. I'm not saying that OpenAI has no legal right to do this, just that it comes across as profoundly disrespectful, which is very discordant with the feelings that are meant to be expressed in an homage.
When people Ghibli-fy their family photos, they get a rush of warmth that isn't from the aesthetics alone (otherwise any equally-good art style would do), but instead specifically comes from a place of admiration for films that they love, and how heartwarming it feels to be able to see yourself through that lens.
The very reason these memes create good feelings is because of their connection to Studio Ghibli itself, and for a tech company to just ride that without even so much as asking permission transforms it (in my opinion) from an homage to a pillage. It doesn't make it illegal, but to me, it hollows out the warmth and positivity that ought to exist in these images, because it spits on the creator rather than honouring them.
You can also print the Mona Lisa on toilet paper, but that's a weird way to express one's love for da Vinci. And so part of what I'm saying is, this is not merely a question of abundance.
Compare with Studio Ponoc, composed of ex-Ghibli employees who also took the same unmistakable Ghibli art style with them for their first feature film. They talked with Miyazaki and got his blessing[1]. That may not have been a legal duty, but it gave their work a certain moral legitimacy, transforming it from imitation to an inheritance.
You realize that users are conjuring these images with the tools right? All OpenAI has is training data. If you want anyone to ask permission it would be them.
You don't have to look backwards very far to a time when artists Simpsons-fied or Ghibli-fied avatars of others or themselves, and they certainly ask no permission, at all, ever.
> Compare with Studio Ponoc, composed of ex-Ghibli employees who also took the same unmistakable Ghibli art style with them for their first feature film. They talked with Miyazaki and got his blessing[1].
Yeah it's a different ballgame when you're a peer in the animation industry.