This is a story of betrayal, and how Japan screwed over its most beloved artist in the name of AI supremacy/advocacy.If youve been on the internet in the past week, youve clearly seen a flood of AI-generated photos in a certain Anime style. Referred colloquially to as the Studio Ghibli aesthetic, it captures the artistic style of celebrated filmmaker Hayao Miyazakis body of work. The style went viral online after Sam Altman debuted GPT 4os ability to translate any photo into any style. However, for some reason, the Ghibli style went truly viral, with everyone (including even nation leaders) using it in ways that blurred the line between cute and potentially disturbing.Theres a lot of opinion to be shared here, especially from Miyazaki himself, who absolutely hates the fact that his years of hard work have been distilled to something as abhorrently dull as a Snapchat filter. Miyazakis work has always been the antithesis of AI its been rooted in empathy, humanity (the good kind), and a kindred spirit that prioritizes the living, the curious, and the underdogs. AIs use of this style seems to be the absolute opposite of everything Miyazaki stood for. Hes always been a man who prioritized the artform, and famously even sent Harvey Weinstein a samurai sword with a stern warning when Weinstein asked one of his feature films be cut to a 90-minute format for easy consumption. But opinion aside, lets talk about whats transpired over the past week, and how Japans own government screwed over Miyazaki by handing Ghiblis entire catalog to OpenAI on a silver platter.The Digital Pickpocketing of Artistic SoulGrant Slattons Ghibli-fied image is what arguably sparked the global trendOpenAIs latest party trick allows users to Ghiblify their selfies into dreamy anime-style portraits that unmistakably channel the aesthetic of Studio Ghibli. The feature has gone predictably viral, with social media awash in images that mimic the studios distinctive stylesoft watercolor backgrounds, expressive eyes, and that ineffable sense of wonder that made films like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro international treasures.What makes this digital ventriloquism act particularly galling isnt just that its happening, but that its happening to Miyazaki of all people. This is a man who famously handcrafts his animations, who once walked out of an AI demonstration in disgust, muttering that it was an insult to life itself. His revulsion wasnt mere technophobia but a principled stand against the mechanization of an art form he believes should capture the messy, beautiful complexity of human experience.The irony would be delicious if it werent so bitter: the artist who rejected computers is now being replicated by them, his distinctive visual language reduced to a prompt parameter.Japans Legal BetrayalMiyazaki himself refers to AI art as an insult to life itself.The true villain in this artistic appropriation isnt necessarily OpenAI (though theyre hardly innocent bystanders). Its Japans bewilderingly creator-hostile copyright framework. In May 2023, the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs issued an interpretation of copyright law that effectively threw creative professionals under the technological bus, declaring that copyrighted works could be used without permission for AI training purposes. (The article specifies that the AI can train on copyright material if its purpose is non-enjoyment, which roughly translates to artistic styles can be copied/replicated as long as the AI doesnt replicate ideas/sentiments/scenes/characters from the training data)The legal loophole hinges on a distinction that would make even the most pedantic lawyer blush: as long as the AI isnt enjoying the works its ingesting (whatever that means for a neural network), its perfectly fine to feed it the entire corpus of an artists life work without consent or compensation. Article 30-4 of Japans Copyright Law provides this exception for non-enjoyment purposes, essentially declaring open season on creative content so you could Ghiblify your selfie without infringing on Miyazakis nuanced material. As long as the AI doesnt make photos of you standing beside Totoro, or recreating scenes from Spirited Away, its all kosher.This isnt just bad policyits spectacular cognitive dissonance from a nation that has built significant cultural capital and soft power through its artistic exports. Japan, home to anime, manga, and some of the worlds most distinctive visual storytellers, has essentially told its creative class: Your work is valuable enough to protect from human copycats, but feel free to let the machines have at it.The Existential Threat to Artistic InnovationBut wait, the techno-optimists cry, isnt imitation the sincerest form of flattery? Arent artists always influenced by those who came before?This argument fundamentally misunderstands both the nature of artistic influence and the economics of creative work. When a human artist studies Miyazakis techniques, theyre engaging in a centuries-old tradition of artistic apprenticeship. They digest, internalize, and transform influences through the prism of their own humanity, eventually developing something new. What emerges is evolution, not replication.AI systems, by contrast, are designed specifically to replicate existing styles on demand. They dont learn in the human sensethey statistically model patterns and reproduce them with variations. Theres no artistic journey, no struggle, no evolution of personal vision. The result is a flattening of artistic diversity, where new styles can be instantly mimicked and mass-produced the moment they emerge.For emerging artists, this creates a perverse disincentive to innovation. Why spend years developing a distinctive style when an AI can copy it overnight? Why push creative boundaries when algorithms can immediately appropriate your breakthroughs? The result is a potential creative chill, where artistic innovation becomes economically irrational because you dont want to become a victim of your own success.The Miyazaki ParadoxThe situation creates what future generations will probably refer to as the Miyazaki Paradox: the more distinctive and influential your artistic voice becomes, the more vulnerable you are to algorithmic appropriation. Miyazakis style is being copied precisely because its so recognizable and beloved. His success has made him a target.This paradox extends beyond animation. Authors with distinctive prose styles, musicians with unique sounds, and visual artists with particular techniques all face the same threat. Their creative fingerprintsdeveloped through decades of practice and refinementbecome training data for systems that can reproduce them without attribution or compensation.Whats particularly galling is that this appropriation is happening to Miyazaki while hes still actively working. At 83, he recently released what may be his final film, The Boy and the Heron. Rather than celebrating this capstone to an extraordinary career, were watching his artistic DNA being spliced into commercial AI systems without his consent.Legal Whack-a-Mole in a Borderless Digital WorldMcDonalds came under fire for its use of GPTs filter to plagiarize Miyazakis style to create marketing materialThe global nature of AI development creates a jurisdictional nightmare for creators seeking to protect their work. While Japan has explicitly permitted the use of copyrighted works for AI training, content creators in other countries may have valid claims under their own copyright laws. This creates a complex legal patchwork that benefits primarily those with the deepest pocketstypically the tech companies, not individual artists.Even when creators attempt to protect their work through legal means, they face an uphill battle. Copyright infringement claims require proving substantial similarity and actual copyingdifficult standards to meet when dealing with AI systems that blend thousands of sources. The burden of proof often falls on creators who lack the resources to pursue complex litigation against tech giants.The use of this filter to animate powerful images feels like the most gross disrespect of history and its impact on life. Here, someone turned the JFK sh**ting into seemingly light-hearted artwork.Digital Self-Defense: Protecting Your Creative WorkDespite these challenges, creators arent entirely powerless. Several strategies have emerged for protecting creative works in the age of AI:Technological Countermeasures: Tools like the University of Chicagos Glaze introduce subtle perturbations to images that are invisible to humans but confuse AI systems attempting to learn an artists style. Think of it as digital camouflage for your creative DNA.Strategic Licensing: Creative Commons licenses with specific restrictions on AI training can establish clear boundaries for how your work can be used. While enforcement remains challenging, explicit prohibitions create legal leverage.Embrace the Inimitable: Focus on aspects of creativity that AI struggles to replicateconceptual depth, cultural context, personal narrative, and authentic emotional resonance. The most human elements of art remain the most difficult to algorithmically reproduce.Collective Action: Individual creators have limited power, but collective movements can influence both policy and corporate behavior. Organizations like the Authors Guild and various visual artists associations are already pushing back against unauthorized use of creative works for AI training.Blockchain Verification: While not a panacea, blockchain technology can create verifiable provenance for original works, helping audiences distinguish between human-created content and AI imitations.To add insult to injury, the official White House Twitter Account shared this dehumanizing Ghibli-fied image of an immigrant being arrested for deportationThe Bitter Irony: AIs Dependence on Human CreativityPerhaps the most frustrating aspect of this situation is that AI systems fundamentally depend on human creativity to function. Without Miyazakis decades of artistic innovation, there would be no Ghibli style for ChatGPT to mimic. These systems are parasitic on the very creative ecosystem they threaten to undermine.This creates an unsustainable dynamic: if AI systems discourage artistic innovation by making it instantly replicable, they will eventually exhaust the supply of novel human creativity they require as training data. Its the technological equivalent of killing the golden gooseextracting short-term value at the expense of long-term cultural vitality.The post How Japans Copyright Laws Allowed ChatGPT to Blatantly Steal Studio Ghiblis Work first appeared on Yanko Design.

In a global exclusive, WIRED went inside TAG Heuer's Swiss factory to see exactly how the brand has brought back its classic entry-level race watch, but this time bigger than everand solar powered.

DOGE demanded full access to a US Department of the Interior system that handles even the Supreme Court's paychecks. When top staff asked questions, they were put on leave.

MacworldHaving revolutionized the computing, music, phone, and gaming industries across a quarter-century of dazzling innovation, Apple is turning its attention to the far more important healthcare sector. And AI is a big part of the companys plan.In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman does a deep dive into a major project at Cupertino which is known internally by the codename Mulberry. Intended to culminate in another subscription service, likely branded as Health+, this project will see the Health app completely revamped and given a new AI-powered health coach feature.The AI element would, Gurman writes, replicateat least to some extenta real doctor, which is likely to set off alarm bells with those who have struggled with Apple Intelligence. The companys AI system has been dogged by problems since it launched last year, and while such teething pains might not be disastrous when a feature is trying to summarize app notifications, the prospect of a misfiring AI giving unreliable health advice is deeply troubling.If youre thinking that you will soon be able to speak to an AI doctor on your iPhone, however, that might not be quite how the service plays out. The idea is that the Health app collects data from your iPhone, Apple Watch, and any other Apple or compatible products capable of monitoring health information, much as it does at present. The difference is that an AI coach will interpret that information to offer health advice tailored to your body, circumstances, and needs. That AI coach is currently being trained using data from physicians that [Apple] has on staff, Gurman reports. Lets hope the training is more thorough than the regimen that Genmoji went through.You may see the faces of doctors on screen, but these will be real, flesh-and-blood medics rather than AI-generated ones. Apple is recruiting healthcare professionals, including experts in sleep, nutrition, physical therapy, mental health and cardiology, to make a series of videos that will serve as explainers. If Health decides, based on your data, that you need to make changes to your diet, for example, you might then be shown a video about food tracking or getting more fresh vegetables.One of the medical recruits, someone Gurman describes as a major doctor personality will be chosen to be the face of the service and its de facto host. Which makes sense from a marketing and interactivity point of view. But one would hope that Apples real priorities are on the medical side of things rather than the presentation.The project is expected to come to fruition as part of the iOS 19.4 software in the spring or summer of 2026. Apple is expected to unveil iOS 19 at its WWDC keynote on June 9, so we may learn more about the feature soon.

MacworldOne of the most annoying things is having about a million wires on your desk charging up all your devices, from your iPhone to your AirPods to your Apple Watch. Thankfully, this Baseus MagSafe 3-in-1 charger stand will take over the job and clear out all those wires for $60, a $30 discount over at Amazons Big Spring Sale.Not only does this charger stand from Baseus come with an amazing price, but its also going to make quite a bit of room on your desk. Instead of spreading your stuff all over the place, youll have a designated space for your phone, watch, and earbuds.The base features a charging pad for the AirPods and one foldable magnetic charger for your Apple Watch. The stand will safely hold your phone, allowing you to adjust its angle just right so you can check out notifications with ease. And if youre worried about your devices heating up during charging, you should know this product comes with a feature called CryoCore Cooling that lets you push a little button on the pad to turn on a cooling fan.The product comes with everything you need, including a wall charger and a type-C-to-C cable, so you wont need anything else. Get your own Baseus charging base for $60 while this Amazon deal still stands.Charge three devices at onceBuy now at Amazon

Sales of foldable mobile phones are expected to fall by 4% this year compared to 2024, according to a new forecast by research firm Counterpoint.If the forecast comes true, it would be the biggest decline to date for the category. But those numbers could rise again as soon as 2026; Apple is rumored to be planning to release a foldable version of the iPhone then. That would likely give the entire segment a big boost.Samsung remains the leader in foldable mobile phones, but Huawei, Honor, Motorola and Xiaomi have closed the gap with Samsung significantly over the past year.

A new firmware update for the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 has been released, though there are currently no details about its contents.Apple has released a firmware update for AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2.On Monday, following the public release of iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, Apple issued a firmware update for select AirPods models. The firmware update increases the build number to 7E93, up from the previous 7B20 and 7B21, released in October 2024.The 7E93 firmware update is available only for AirPods Pro 2, and all models of the AirPods 4, including the variant with Active Noise Cancellation. It will not be released for AirPods Max or other non-H2 devices. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Apple's iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 updates contain multiple fixes designed to keep your data secure. Here's what you need to know, and why you should consider updating right away.iOS 18.4 features major security fixes that keep your data safe.On Monday, after a series of developer betas and two separate release candidate builds, Apple finally launched iOS 18.4 to the general public. Though the update contains various Apple Intelligence improvements and an all-new Apple Vision Pro app, the software also patches multiple vulnerabilities.As with every major iOS update, iOS 18.4 addresses core security issues related to different features and aspects of the iPhone operating system. Many of the changes introduced on Monday were implemented to prevent bad actors from accessing users' private information. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Modular housing has already proven itself to be a viable solution to Ukrainians in their wartime effort to rebuild and could now serve a critical role following the Los Angeles Fires, the LA Timesis reporting.Many in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena are expected to be without homes for at least the remainder of this decade thanks to a mess of permitting regulations and the lagging debris removal process, according to aneye-opening Urban Land Institute (ULI) estimate. This could therefore become a watershed opportunity for designers in L.A. to leverage the impressive production and delivery leaps that have propelled the fast, low-carbon option despite its lack of a wider building industry embrace for much of the past decade.

Inside Climate News has more on the "significant blow" dealt to sustainable building advocates by the Trump Administrations forced cancelation of more than $116 million inEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) grants aimed at ramping up domestic production of clean construction materials.The funding, which is derived from the Inflation Reduction Act and helps manufacturers secure new Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), was announced last year as a $160 million Federal Buy Clean Initiative package to 38 different universities and other research institutions. It falls in line with the White Houses reported pursuit of criminal charges against "environmental" groups that have received such funding through a "conspiracy to defraud the United States."