UAE artists ask where 'rights, ethics end' after Ghibli trend goes viral
They fear that the Ghibli trend could overshadow individual artistic expressions. On social media platforms like Instagram, this trend has spread rapidly, with people transforming their own photos into Ghibli style.
As more creators adopt this style to attract attention and followers, the hashtag #Ghibli has exploded. It now features countless posts, encompassing everything from home decor to food and landscaping, even some companies have used it to turn their workers and workplace to the style.
Luqman, who is a multi-disciplinary Emirati artist, acknowledged that artificial intelligence exists and will continue to evolve, but stressed that society is still in the primitive stages of understanding its capabilities. "Over time, rules and laws will emerge, but what has happened is unfortunate. I hope the artist wins his cases so that laws are established to limit the misuse of this technology.'
He was referring to Studio Ghibli co-founder who filed a lawsuit against OpenAI for copyright infringement.
Luqman was one of the first to embrace technology in visual arts in the UAE back in 1996, utilising digital art in his exhibitions. "I have no issue with the popularity of digital art, but where do rights and ethics end when it comes to using others' properties?"
"I personally embrace technology, but not in a way where I just press a button and claim the work as mine. I use it as a tool that helps and inspires me," he said.
However, Luqman highlighted the danger of artists presenting others' works as their own, noting, "If it's trending for people to see how they look its fine, but if someone is benefiting financially from the work without crediting the original creator, it becomes problematic."
He pointed out that while the Ghibli trend may be captivating, it risks diluting the originality of individual artists. "This cartoon style we see everywhere now is often misappropriated, and it's wrong for anyone to claim it as their own. Additionally, the institutions that have worked on employing this style for their benefit are also at fault."
Luqman also mentioned that he has a list of clients who appreciate the uniqueness of his work and understand the value of an artist's history. "They do not want common work; they want something unique."
Sudanese artist Soma Siddig, who resides in Sharjah, said AI can never replace artists. 'AI art is repetitive and lacks uniqueness; creativity and human quality reside only with human artists."
She believes that while AI may develop in the artistic realm, it will never reach the level of creativity and ideas that human beings possess.
Shama Khalil Al Ashkhari, an Emirati painter and art business owner from Al Ain, highlighted how AI is fast and saves time. However, many still prefer the personalised touches of painters.
"There are details that a painter adds which no AI can replicate, and there will always be uniqueness between the two."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
5 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Have you sipped on safcha, the Emirati twist on matcha yet?
For matcha lovers and those who want to try it without worrying about sleepless nights, a new caffeine-free alternative has emerged from the UAE: safcha. Saaf Cafe, an Emirati concept inspired by the palm tree, a national symbol of heritage and identity, now serves the drink made from dried palm fronds. Safcha mimics the properties of matcha — a heavy pour of antioxidants and nutrients — sans the caffeine. Like the Japanese tea, the drink is green, and its production — the leaves are carefully selected, steamed, dried, and stone-ground into a fine powder — inspired by its overseas counterpart. The name itself blends the words 'saaf', which is Arabic for palm fronds, and matcha. It is ideal for those looking for a calming drink or an earthy local flavour. Mohammed Al Badwawi, brother of the founder of Saaf Cafe, told KT LUXE: 'During our participation in an exhibition in Saudi Arabia, we discovered a new product called safcha. We were immediately drawn to it because it perfectly aligns with our vision of offering products made from the palm tree.' By promoting this healthy beverage, the cafe hopes to attract the younger generation by providing food and juices that align with modern health trends, such as caffeine-free coffee alternatives similar to matcha. 'We've always aimed to offer choices that suit everyone, including those who are sensitive to caffeine,' Al Badwawi added. Now, safcha has become a staple on the extensive cafe menu. Hatta effect Saaf Cafe was established in 2024 in Hatta, and its name pays tribute to the natural environment and cultural heritage of the mountainous Hatta region. It also seeks to promote the culture of using dates by presenting them in various forms — from coffee infused with date extract, priced at Dh30, to other beverages such as 'Basr Juice' (made from fresh dates), Spanish Latte with dates, and V60 with dates. The menu also includes dishes like date pizza, date tiramisu, and rutab (semi-ripe dates) cheesecake, with prices ranging from Dh15 to Dh45. Al Badwawi explained: 'We wanted everything to be inspired by Hatta, from the name to the ingredients.' Saaf Cafe is not just a business project; it is a contribution to the community. We want people to see the palm tree not just as a symbol but also as a source of nourishment, wellness, and inspiration" Mohammed Al Badwawi In addition to beverages and desserts flavoured with dates, the cafe also offers personal care products such as date oil for hair, facial serum, eyelash oil, body oil, and date patches for eyes, feet, and joints. 'Saaf Cafe is not just a business project; it is a contribution to the community. We want people to see the palm tree not just as a symbol but also as a source of nourishment, wellness, and inspiration,' he said. The cafe was founded by Ali Al Badwawi, a retired government employee, former FIFA referee, and former member of the UAE Football Association. Al Badwawi views the project as a tribute to Emirati heritage. With more than 150 palm trees on the family farm, the Al Badwawi estate supplies the dates used to produce the beverages and food items served at the cafe. More than a cafe It's usually location that draws a crowd, but in the case of this cafe, it was the site of operation that proved to be the challenge. (It is located inside Dubai Municipality's Al Wadi Park at Hatta.) However, a collaboration with the local municipality helped turn the cafe into a visitor attraction. 'It was difficult to design a marketing plan that would draw people into the park to visit the cafe, but the municipality cooperated by placing a sign for the cafe inside the park,' he said. The venue functions as both a cafe and a restaurant, featuring two floors and an outdoor space. It was established to serve local products. The cafe blends traditional and modern atmospheres, and offers a unique dining experience suitable for all ages, including traditional breakfasts and other meals. Services include dine-in, online ordering, and soon, a new branch in Mirdif, Dubai. The cafe also organises events and initiatives aligned with local culture, such as dedicating special hours for only women, where people can connect over snacks and a cup of safcha.
The National
11 hours ago
- The National
AI chip smuggling 'gets more airtime than it should', White House official says
The idea of high-performance AI chips being smuggled into potentially nefarious hands gets more attention than it should, a White House official has said. Michael Kratsios, who serves as director for the Trump administration's Office of Science and Technology Policy, said on Wednesday that there are a lot of misconceptions and misguided fears about the 'physical diffusion' of artificial intelligence technology developed by the US. 'We're not talking about like a bag of diamonds or something,' he said during a discussion at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank about Mr Trump's recently announced AI Action Plan. Some politicians have expressed concerns about the potential for recently announced US AI partnerships overseas to be exploited by countries like China to try to acquire powerful American-made technology. 'These are like massive racks that are tonnes in weight and you're not going to put it on a forklift or back it into a truck, or something," he explained, adding that the idea of chip smuggling "probably gets more airtime than it should." Mr Kratsios also said the hypothetical scenario of the US partnerships with other countries leading to the misuse of data centres by countries like China for 'training runs' to access the centres was overblown. 'What you're most worried about is large-scale runs that are for training sophisticated models and those are actually pretty easy to flag,' he said, adding that the US will make sure to implement what's known in IT circles as Know Your Customer policies to prevent bad actors from gaining access to data centres powered by US technology. Mr Kratsios said that Mr Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, put too many chip export restrictions on allies, and that the export of US technology to countries with peaceful AI aspirations was critical to an overall AI strategy. During Mr Trump's visit to the Gulf in May, he announced the US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership framework that will eventually lead to the construction of a 5GW UAE-US AI Campus in Abu Dhabi. 'The [Biden administration] limits made no sense at all,' he said, referring to President Biden's policies aimed at limiting the powerful CPUs and GPUs available to certain countries. Those policies were largely aimed at preventing the diffusion of US technology to China. It proved controversial, with companies like Microsoft and Nvidia claiming the policies hurt US efforts more than helping. Some US AI companies like Anthropic, however, have sought to keep the export controls. 'In some cases, smugglers have employed creative methods to circumvent export controls, including hiding processors in prosthetic baby bumps and packing GPUs [graphics processing units] alongside live lobsters,' read an April policy letter from Anthropic. That letter later came under criticism over what some called the oversimplification of how AI data centres work. Regardless, in keeping with that theme of reversing the Biden export policy, the Trump White House recently announced plans that would allow for Nvidia to resume sales of its H20 graphics processing unit to China. That decision, however, has come under criticism from several technology analysts and politicians. A group of Democratic senators this week sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urging him to reverse course. At the CSIS event, Mr Kratsios said the concerns from Democratic senators were oversimplified, adding that the H20 was designed to comply with US concerns about giving China too much computing power, among other things. 'It's not a free-for-all sale,' he said, referring to White House's H20 announcement. 'Any sale that Nvidia wants to make to China is one that's going to require an export licence.' Mr Kratsios added that the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security would be evaluating each of those licence applications and 'weight the costs' before giving Nvidia approval.
Web Release
16 hours ago
- Web Release
Echoes from Lebanon Art Exhibition – Arts and Politics from 28 July to 4 August and online
Echoes from Lebanon Art Exhibition – Arts and Politics from 28 July to 4 August and online From 28 July to 4 August, an Art Exhibition is taking place at Arthaus to commemorate the Victims of the Beirut Blast and mark 5 years of Arts and Politics online exhibition: 51 Artworks from the original exhibition are exhibited Event info here: Instagram page: @ Echoes from Lebanon A Collective Virtual Art Exhibition Echoes from Lebanon is a Virtual Art Exhibition under the theme of Arts & Politics featuring more than 100 artists and 200 artworks. The concept was created and organized by 'I Have Learned Academy' in collaboration with 'Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung', Lebanon Office. The purpose is to show how people expressed their feelings from the recent events and situations in Lebanon: hope, pain, love, anger… Many emotions were expressed through Art. Due to the corruption, Beirut Blast, and financial challenges, many people and artists sublimated the suffering by making something beautiful out of every situation. Echoes from Lebanon is a scream from Lebanon to the world, a shout to be heard echoing all over the world… Important Disclaimer: The artworks and descriptions represent each artist by himself and do not represent a collective opinion from all artists or a personal opinion from the organizers and collaborators. Exhibiting Artists Adra Kandil (Dear Nostalgia) | Alfred Badr (EpS) | Alia Maria Chaaraoui | Amani Beainy | Armen Gevorgian (Aramé Art Gallery) | Bernard Hage (The Art of Boo) | Bilal Jawish | Brady Black & The Art of Change | Brahim Samaha | Carlos Haidamous | Carmen Yahchouchi | Christine Kettaneh | Dahlia Ezzeddine | Dalal Atallah El-Jurdi | Danielle El-Hayek | Diana Jeha | Eddy Choueiry | Eliana El Morr | Elyse Khoury | Emile E. Issa | Fatima Dia | Georgi Bitar | Ghaleb Cabbabe | Ghaleb Hawila | Hady Beydoun | Hayat Nazer | Imad Abou Jaoude | Ingrid Naccour | Ivan Debs | Jad Ghorayeb | João Sousa | Joe Sokhn | Karim Tamerji | Léa Nasnas Chami | MarieJoe Raidy | Michel Chamaa | Mohamad Tohme I Nabil Debs | Nabil Ismail | Nada Raphael | Nivine Massoud | Nour Flayhan | Omar Frangieh | Omar Imady | Omar Sfeir | Rabih Yassine | Rachel Mouawad | Rami Kanso | Rami Rizk | Randa Farah | Raouf Rifai | Rim El Assal | Roger Moukarzkel | Roula Abdo | Said Mahmoud | Salma Siblini | Samar Hawa | Samer Nehmé | Sandra Sahyoun | Sarah Richani | Sasha Haddad | Saydé Jabra | Selim Mawad | Shafic Al Timani | Tamara Haddad | Tiffany Moujaes | Tom Young | Yara Zarrui | Zaynab Mourad | Zeinab Assaad As well as Habib Fawaz & Carole Ayoub | Jad Taleb | Joanna Bou Antoun for the TV videos displayed Allen Seif (OAK) for the Music in the Room of The Aftermath. Styro 3D for the Fist of the Revolution, OhMyHappiness for the Letters For more info contact us: [email protected] or [email protected] or +961.3.614493 Visit the Exhibition on The Exhibition has 5 rooms: 1- Lebanon's Struggles: all problems in Lebanon like: pollution, waste crisis, electricity, dollar crisis, abandoned trains, neglected heritage, corruption, forest fires, poverty, politicians, emigration from Lebanon, etc 2- Thawra: The Lebanese Scream: The Revolution that started in October 2020 including the independence day, human chain, etc 3- 4 August 2020:The Beirut Explosion: The day of the Beirut Port blast 4- The Aftermath on Ground Zero: what happened after the explosion day 5- The Memorial wall: Tribute to the Victims (filmed in 360 shots) Intro on Have Learned Academy: I Have Learned Academy is a professional training center, a place where you can learn everything that you didn't learn at school! Providing Educational Workshops & Training and organizing professional conferences, corporate events, exhibitions and more! Check their upcoming Workshops & Events here: Intro on Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung: The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) is a German political foundation whose civic education program aims at promoting freedom and liberty, peace and justice. The KAS Lebanon Office engages with topics of political, social and economic relevance including political reforms and participation, transparency and accountability. This event is in partnership with KAS Lebanon.
