When it comes to fads, human culture is endlessly inventive. Over the past 100 years, people have gone wild for hula hoops, 3D glasses, a whole collection of different dance crazes as well as Rubik’s cubes and Tamagotchis. The internet era has added a new category of collective – if short-lived – enthusiasms from Rickrolling, Facebook personality quizzes and email chain letters to the ice-bucket challenge and the Harlem Shake.
The recent release by Open AI of an advanced ChatGPT image generator that can recreate photos in the style of Japan’s famous Ghibli animation studio has arguably created the 21st century’s latest craze. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman has claimed that ChatGPT gained a million new users in an hour, posting on X that the company’s “GPUs are melting” as people across the world clamour for this new form of AI-generated art.
The meme is everywhere on social media. Most of the images generated are light-hearted – family photos, recreations of famous historical images and some corporate advertisements. Others are controversial or even sinister – the Israeli military, for instance, has created Ghibli-style images of its soldiers as they continue their bombing campaign in Gaza.
The rendering of personal photographs into whimsical Japanese cartoons may prove to be another flash in the pan. Nevertheless, it reveals the power of big tech and underlines the breath-taking speed at which online innovations can break out of the computer lab and into our everyday lives. This calls for hard thinking about the ethical and responsible uses of these powerful – and growing – technologies.
The excitement about the Ghibli tool is understandable. It is fun, culturally relatable and an accessible way for people to enjoy powerfully creative technology. But such excitement should be tempered by caution. That many people are reflexively uploading photos of themselves and their loved ones, in addition to their personal details, should raise concerns about how their data and likenesses are being put to use.
There are also concerns about copyright, intellectual property and the wider ethics of using human-generated work to produce digital images. Hayao Miyazaki, the co-founder of Studio Ghibli world, is on record as saying that AI-generated animation is an "insult to life itself". Others share this queasiness about mixing AI with human creativity – in February, thousands of people signed an open letter addressed to Christie’s auction house in New York, urging it to cancel a planned sale of AI-derived art, claiming that it used “AI models that are known to be trained on copyrighted work without a license”. “These models and the companies behind them,” the letter added, “exploit human artists, using their work without permission or payment to build commercial AI products that compete with them.”
The answer to the challenging questions posed by such innovations lies somewhere between wholehearted adoption and knee-jerk rejection
As is often the case, the answer to the challenging questions posed by such innovations lies somewhere between wholehearted adoption and knee-jerk rejection. In the UAE – an early adopter of digital technologies such as AI – a measured approach has been evident for years. Last week, this was summed up by Omran Sharaf, assistant foreign minister for advanced science and technology, who told an AI summit in Geneva that: "We shouldn’t be paranoid, we should be very smart about the way we approach it … But, at the same time, we should be very cautious not to be reckless about it, and work on systems that ensure responsible behaviour, bring transparency and make sure there are controls put in place so that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands."
It is this open-minded but qualified embrace of advanced technology that provides the best way forward. Informed caution can act as a steadying counterweight to the pull of the latest online fad.
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Boulder shooting victims
• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
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At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
PREMIER LEAGUE STATS
Romelu Lukaku's goalscoring statistics in the Premier League
Season/club/appearances (substitute)/goals
2011/12 Chelsea: 8(7) - 0
2012/13 West Brom (loan): 35(15) - 17
2013/14 Chelsea: 2(2) - 0
2013/14 Everton (loan): 31(2) - 15
2014/15 Everton: 36(4) - 10
2015/16 Everton: 37(1) - 18
2016/17 Everton: 37(1) - 25
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
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- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
