"Stop using AI & support real artists" - Fans outraged by Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz & others' Ghibli-style images being used by American sports site
Fans were frustrated after an American sports site used AI to generate animated images of players like Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday. They used the in-trend Ghibli style AI images, which the maker of the artform has criticized.
Tennis Channel posted Ghibli-style AI images of Gauff, Alcaraz, Jack Draper, Madison Keys, Mirra Andreeva, Jakub Mensik, Aryna Sabalenka, and Taylor Fritz on Instagram.
Fans in the comments section claimed this was an incorrect move. Many fans expressed their frustrations by writing that the media house should have hired "real" artists to create these images.
"Stop using ai slop and support real artists," one fan wrote.
"Booooo support real artists," another fan wrote.
"AI theft. Have some class and delete," a third fan wrote.
One fan, who claimed to be a filmmaker, opened up about what they felt was the problem with such a post. They wrote:
"As a filmmaker it is sad to see you guys using AI for your posts--especially from such a renowned artist of our times. there are much more effective, original forms of content you all can post and ones will be much more interesting."
One fan pointed out that the very artist who inspired this art style was firmly against AI-generated art, stating:
"Not cute tbh :( the inspiration behind this explicitly hated AI."
Meanwhile, one fan called it "embarrassing," writing:
"Glad to see everyone is in agreement in these comments. so embarrassing to see you guys supporting this ai theft and slop."
Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, who is the inspiration behind the Ghibli-style AI images, told Far Out Magazine in 2016 about AI-generated art:
"I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself."
The Ghibli-style AI images have been trending on the internet for the past few days and have faced criticism from a section of people online.
Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz's next tournaments after the Miami Open
Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz last played at the Miami Open this past week, and both the World No. 3s faced a disappointing end to their campaigns. Alcaraz came to Miami off the back of a semifinal finish at Indian Wells, where he was a defending champion.
However, he had a horrid time in Miami, losing to David Goffin in his campaign opener. Surprisingly, along with Alcaraz, all four Indian Wells men's semifinalists lost their campaign openers.
Meanwhile, Gauff opened her campaign with a blistering 6-0, 6-0 win over Sofia Kenin. She defeated 28th seed Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-4 but fell to unseeded Magda Linette 4-6, 4-6 in the fourth round.
Up next for Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff is the clay season. Alcaraz is expected to play at the Monte-Carlo Masters while the American WTA star will be playing the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, a WTA 500 event in Stuttgart.