Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1534549
IMAGES generated by artificial intelligence have taken over so- cial media over the past weeks with social media personalities and politicians posting Stu- dio Ghibli-inspired images of themselves. The images have piqued the curiosity of many across the globe, including Malta. But the social media trend has fuelled the debate on the role of artifi- cial intelligence (AI) in art. The Studio Ghibli image generation debate centres on the ethical and legal concerns surrounding AI-generated art- work that mimics the iconic animation studio's visual style. Artists and fans have argued that using AI to replicate Ghib- li's hand-crafted aesthetic – often trained on copyrighted material without consent – un- dermines creative integrity and devalues original work. Studio co-founder Hayao Mi- yazaki has publicly criticised AI art as lacking humanity. While some view AI-generated Ghibli-style images as homage, others see it as exploitation, fuelling wider debates about authorship, copyright, and the future of creative industries in the age of AI. MaltaToday reached out to experts from various fields to better understand how the rapidly evolving technology is affecting artists, and whether they can protect their art. Maria Galea, President of the Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association (MEIA) said AI is presenting both chal- lenges and opportunities for the sector. "While it can be a valuable tool, there is concern about it replacing human creativity," Galea said, noting this is al- ready happening in Malta in ads and marketing campaigns. "Photographers, actors and illustrators are already being replaced by AI. We must find a way to co-exist and co-create," she said. However, Galea said creative professionals and designers are already integrating AI into the artistic process to facilitate processes or create new forms of art. "At the end of the day, in this case, while AI is being used as a tool, artists are still the ones driving the vision." Imitation or inspiration? But the global debate going on right now centres around the need to protect artistic work from scraping of publicly available work by AI engines. Ioanis Revolidis, lecturer at the Department of Media, Communications, and Tech- nology Law at the Law Faculty of the University of Malta, said the debate centres around the fundamental issue of copyright. "Does copyright protect style? The reality is that it does not. This is because it could stifle creativity," he said. But it gets trickier when AI machines are prompted to gen- erate images in a certain artis- tic style. "There are several dimensions as to whether users are infring- ing copyright when prompting. One could argue that without the user's prompts, the image would not be generated, but on the other hand, without the machine scraping online data the image would not be gener- ated," Revolidis said. He said there is a lot of "nu- ance", but the fact of the mat- ter remains that the AI model does not request permission from the artist, and does not request copyright permission, while not sharing royalties and profits. Artificial intelligence expert Alexiei Dingli agreed with Re- KARL AZZOPARDI kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt 6 AI and art: Match made in heaven, Attention Directors & Company Secretaries If you're providing these services to one or two client companies, we invite you to join the MFSA's workshop Register For Free At Learn more about the latest updates to the Company Service Providers regulatory framework 30 th April 2025 www.mfsa.mt/events 6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 APRIL 2025 FEATURE As AI-generated art f loods social media, artists and experts debate whether it enhances creativity or threatens originality, raising urgent questions around copyright, ethics, and the future of artistic expression Alexei Dingli Ioannis Revolidis Hayao Miyazaki Maria Galea