Hayao Miyazaki said “I am utterly disgusted” in 2016 after watching an experimental AI-generated animation demonstration—not in response to today’s AI image generators or Ghibli-style images. His reaction was tied to the demo’s grotesque movement and to a personal story about a disabled friend.
What was Miyazaki reacting to?
In 2016, Miyazaki was shown an experimental animation made with artificial intelligence. The demonstration featured a figure moving in a contorted, unusual way. Contemporary reports of the documentary footage describe the presenters showing him the work and asking for his response. The Drum’s December 12, 2016 report and Animation World Network’s report from the same day recount the exchange.
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Why did he say he was disgusted?
Miyazaki explained his response by recalling a disabled friend who had difficulty raising an arm to return a high five. The sight of the AI-generated movement brought that friend to mind. As The Drum transcribes his explanation: “Thinking of him, I can’t watch this stuff and find interesting.” The image was not merely an abstract technical experiment to Miyazaki; he viewed it against his experience of a person living with restricted movement.
His response included the now widely repeated phrase “I am utterly disgusted.” He also said: “If you really want to make creepy stuff, you can go ahead and do it, but I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all.” Animation World Network and The Independent also report his statement: “I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself.” These lines express his reaction to the particular demonstration and his own work; they should not be recast as an official Studio Ghibli policy.
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Was he talking about ChatGPT or AI-generated Ghibli images?
No. The remark came nearly a decade before the 2025 discussion of AI-generated images imitating Studio Ghibli. The technologies and tasks are distinct: the 2016 presentation concerned experimental generated movement, while the later controversy concerned image generation. Both may be described as AI, but that shared label does not make Miyazaki’s 2016 remarks a response to those later products.
When the quotation resurfaced in 2025, coverage explicitly placed it in the context of renewed debate about Ghibli-like AI imagery. Le Monde’s April 2, 2025 article distinguishes the earlier animation demonstration from contemporary image generators, while TechCrunch reported the renewed attention on April 3, 2025.
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What the quote does—and does not—establish
The available accounts attribute the words to Miyazaki in documentary footage and report his reaction to a specific demonstration. They do not establish that he was addressing every use of artificial intelligence, nor do they establish a formal statement by Studio Ghibli. The wording is best understood in its original setting: an animator responding strongly to an experimental movement demo he found disturbing and incompatible with his work.
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