AI Art Heist? Can Blockchain Save Studio Ghibli’s Style

I opened my social media to be flooded with AI Art generated in Studio Ghibli style pictures. Jumping into the fun, I quickly opened up OpenAI’s new model and created my own.

Later, I started to read about protests from artists about this being one of the biggest Art Heists ever. Many creators are understandably upset, viewing this technological advancement as outright theft of their distinctive styles and intellectual property.

The outrage centers around the belief that AI-generated art, especially pieces directly inspired by well-established styles, crosses ethical boundaries.

Studio Ghibli, known globally for its distinctive, hand-crafted animation style and heartwarming storytelling, represents more than just visuals—it symbolizes decades of artistic dedication and original creativity. In fact accordingly to Fun Fact Co, seven Ghibli films are among the 15 highest grossing anime films of all time.

Robert Scoble, AI Sherpa and Co-author, “The Infinite Retina,” said “We’re entering uncharted territory—when AI generates content inspired by existing work, it’s not immediately clear if it’s innovation or infringement. The real question is how we define originality in the age of AI. Ultimately, creators deserve clarity, protection, and credit, regardless of how the lines are drawn.”

Is it an art heist or fun with AI?

Before AI: A Historical Perspective on Technological Borrowing

Stepping back, technological innovation has always had a complex relationship with creativity and originality. Photography, for instance, is often praised for its democratization of art, but its development heavily relied on techniques pioneered by legendary artists like Ansel Adams. Adams meticulously refined exposure, composition, and visual storytelling—skills that today’s automated smartphone cameras effortlessly replicate without acknowledgment or compensation.

Similarly, the world of writing faces a parallel scenario. Large language models (LLMs), trained on vast bodies of text written by countless authors—including myself—continuously create new content based on learned styles and knowledge. These models “borrow” extensively from published materials, often without direct consent or compensation to original authors.

Ann Handley wrote in Linkedin, “Meta used all 3 of my books and millions of other books, ebooks, and research papers to train its AI. All without consent, compensation, copyright concern, credit. You find out only by searching a database published a few days ago by The Atlantic.”

Despite legitimate grievances, society undeniably benefits from these advancements. Social media feeds overflow with engaging visuals and compelling narratives, significantly enhancing our everyday experiences.

Yet, the convenience and widespread appreciation for AI-generated works shouldn’t diminish the discomfort and ethical dilemmas faced by original creators whose styles and painstaking efforts are appropriated without explicit consent.

The Role of Blockchain Technology and AI

This ethical and creative dilemma could find a promising resolution through blockchain technology. Blockchain, a decentralized digital ledger system known for its transparency, immutability, and secure record-keeping, could serve as a crucial tool for protecting artists’ rights and intellectual property.

Blockchain’s most significant potential lies in the ability to tokenize artwork—transforming each piece into a unique digital asset with traceable provenance. Tokenization enables permanent, transparent records of authorship, creation date, ownership transfers, and even detailed licensing agreements. Each artwork becomes more than just visual content; it evolves into a verifiable digital asset, preserving the rights and ownership unequivocally in the digital age.

Take for instance CrowdGenAI (I am an advisor to the company). Combined with blockchain technology, solutions like CrowdGenAI’s TraceID create a powerful anti-piracy mechanism designed to significantly reduce the losses experienced by creators and copyright holders. The integration of cryptographic watermarking with blockchain ensures that every digital asset, whether text, image, or video, carries an immutable digital signature, providing indisputable proof of authenticity, ownership, and provenance.

This robust combination of watermarking and blockchain transparency helps deter unauthorized distribution and piracy, as every asset can be tracked back to its origin and verified instantly. Such traceability makes infringement significantly riskier and easier to prosecute, discouraging piracy before it occurs.

Innovative blockchain projects like Custos and Vevue further illustrate the effectiveness of digital watermarking combined with blockchain. Custos employs blockchain-enabled watermarking technology to identify and incentivize the reporting of unauthorized content distribution, creating a transparent and community-driven anti-piracy solution. Similarly, Vevue leverages blockchain and watermarking to protect creator rights transparently, ensuring royalties and rights management are enforced efficiently and effectively.

Together, these groundbreaking technologies showcase a powerful new framework for content protection, providing creators and rights holders with the tools necessary to confidently secure their digital assets in an increasingly interconnected and digital-first world.

Automating Fair Compensation through Smart Contracts with AI

Integrating smart contracts—self-executing contracts with the terms directly written into code—can further enhance the value proposition blockchain offers to artists. These contracts automate royalty payments, licensing arrangements, and other critical transactions whenever a derivative or inspired piece is created. Essentially, whenever AI or human artists utilize a distinct style or specific artwork for generating new content, blockchain would automatically execute royalty payments to the original creators.

Applying this concept practically, consider Ghibli-inspired AI-generated art. Each generated piece could automatically trigger royalty payments back to Studio Ghibli or individual artists whose distinctive styles are used. By streamlining and automating this process, blockchain technology could create an equitable environment, alleviating many ethical concerns and transforming resentment into cooperative creativity.

Bridging the Gap Between Technological Innovation with AI and Artistic Integrity

This blockchain-driven approach doesn’t merely safeguard artists’ economic rights; it fosters a new creative culture that balances innovation with integrity. Artists gain not only financial benefits but also recognition and validation of their contribution to evolving art forms. Meanwhile, technology enthusiasts and AI creators can confidently explore artistic styles, knowing they’re contributing positively to the broader creative ecosystem.

However, practical implementation faces several challenges, including establishing universal blockchain standards, integrating existing platforms, and addressing potential privacy and copyright disputes. Resolving these issues requires robust dialogue and cooperation between technologists, artists, lawmakers, and audiences.

AI Ethical Innovation: A New Artistic Renaissance?

We stand at the crossroads of what could either become history’s greatest art heist or its most profound artistic renaissance. How society collectively addresses the tension between technology-driven innovation and creative integrity will profoundly shape the future of art and creativity.

Blockchain provides a tangible path forward, offering practical solutions for ensuring fairness, recognition, and compensation for artists. More importantly, it creates an ethical foundation upon which technological advancements in AI art can flourish, supported by mutual respect and sustainable collaboration.

The Role of Public Opinion and Regulation around AI

Public sentiment plays a significant role in navigating these challenges. Greater awareness and nuanced discussions about artistic rights, technology ethics, and intellectual property laws must continue.

Engaging artists, technologists, and broader audiences in open dialogue helps establish socially accepted norms and regulatory frameworks that encourage innovation without sacrificing fairness.

Ed Newton-Rex, CEO of FairlyTrained, commented on X, “We are in the middle of the biggest art heist in history. And, despite widespread protests from creators, huge numbers of people are cheering it on.”

Moreover, regulatory clarity is paramount. Clear, supportive laws are essential to enable blockchain’s potential fully. Policymakers must actively participate in this dialogue, crafting policies that balance innovation with protection, ensuring an equitable digital creative economy.

Turning Crisis into Opportunity

Ultimately, the heated debate surrounding AI-generated art represents an invaluable opportunity to revisit and strengthen our collective commitments to creative integrity, fairness, and technological progress. Rather than succumbing to division, we can unite technology and creativity, leveraging blockchain to build an ecosystem where everyone benefits fairly.

What do you think? Is it an art heist or fun with AI?

We might currently experience the greatest art heist by AI in history—but with thoughtful integration and collaboration, it could instead be remembered as a turning point towards a future where art and technology thrive together harmoniously.