Nishant Pai, Design Lead, Idea Spice DesignWith OpenAI’s image generator now capable of “ghiblifying” your family photos into dreamy, soft-focus anime scenes, it’s easy to get swept up in the charm. But once the novelty fades, so do the lines between nostalgia, creativity, art and mimicry.
Behind every cute cat turned forest spirit and every couple reimagined as whimsical anime protagonists is a much larger question: if AI can make beautiful things, what does that mean for the people who’ve spent their lives learning how?
When machines mimic magic
Let’s be clear; ’AI-generated art’ is not art in the human sense. Art, at its core, is not just about producing an image. It’s about intention, emotional depth, context, and often, years of painstaking trial and error. As Hayao Miyazaki himself once said, AI visuals are “an insult to life itself.” Harsh? Sure. But maybe he’s onto something.
Studio Ghibli’s worlds feel alive not just because they’re pretty, but because they’re felt. Every frame is hand-drawn with care and memory. Compare that to an algorithm remixing data scraped (often without consent) from a million corners of the internet. What you get is imitation, not expression. It’s style without soul.
Taste is not a dataset
While some hail AI as the “democratisation of art,” let’s not forget: the output is only as meaningful as the input. And what truly sets artists apart isn’t the tool in their hand—it’s their taste.
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life,” Picasso once said. And that’s what artists do: they notice, they feel, they translate the intangible into something that moves us. Their work carries memory, meaning, and emotional weight—things no algorithm can replicate.
Designers, too, operate from that same well of sensitivity. But they bring it into the realm of communication and problem-solving. Great design isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about listening, understanding context, and turning a complex brief into something beautiful, strategic, and human.
AI can generate options. But it doesn’t know which one resonates. It can’t tell you when something’s too cold, too generic, or just off. A designer can. Because taste isn’t a filter — it’s a skill. And like any skill, it’s earned through years of critique, experimentation, and intuition.
The act of creation makes us human
Maybe the deeper truth is this: the act of creation is what makes us human. Drawing, designing, building; these are not just outputs. They’re how we process grief, joy, conflict, memory. They’re how we tell stories and how we understand our place in the world.
AI can generate visuals in seconds. But it doesn’t reflect. It doesn’t struggle or grow. It doesn’t feel the thrill of a late-night breakthrough, or the slow build of an idea finally clicking into place. It doesn’t sit with uncertainty, or chase meaning.
The creative process; with all its chaos, doubt, and catharsis, is what gives the final work its soul. Without that, we’re just rearranging pixels.
A mirror, not a muse
None of this is to say we should fear AI. It’s not going away. Used thoughtfully, it can be a brilliant collaborator; especially in fast-paced industries like the Middle East where iteration and speed are critical.
But let’s stop treating it like it’s magic. AI is not a muse. It’s a mirror; one that reflects what we feed into it, sometimes with uncanny precision.
In places where design is in conversation with heritage, culture, and change; whether that’s the Middle East or anywhere else, AI can help execute a vision. But it can’t define it. It can’t tell you what feels authentic, or what carries meaning beyond the aesthetic. That still takes a human eye. A human heart.
Final thoughts
So yes, go ahead and ghiblify your holiday selfies. Use AI to spark ideas, mock up layouts, or break through creative block on a Tuesday afternoon. But don’t confuse the output with artistry.
Art isn’t just about what we make; it’s about why we make it. AI might help us create, but it will never replace the need to create. Because behind every truly moving piece of art is a person reaching for connection, for truth, for something only they can say.
That’s not something you can automate.
By Nishant Pai, Design Lead, Idea Spice Design
