A single Ghibli film takes 50,000 hours to draw. An AI image takes 7 seconds, and gets 7 thousand likes.
In the textile town of Murshidabad in Eastern India, 19th century weavers created muslin so fine it was called 'woven air.' A single artisan spent months crafting fabric with 1,800 threads per inch, so delicate that 20 yards could pass through a ring. Indian muslin clothed emperors and queens, with each piece carrying generations of knowledge passed from master to apprentice.
When British industrial looms arrived, they replicated the patterns for a fraction. A tradition dating to 3000 BC collapsed. Muslin weavers, unable to compete with mechanized efficiency, reportedly had their thumbs severed to prevent them from practicing their craft. An imperial report from 1850 coldly noted that ‘the bones of the cotton weavers were bleaching the plains of India.’
As someone from India, this was part of my education, tales of how industrial efficiency often renders cultural meaning invisible.
Hayao Miyazaki, founder of Studio Ghibli, creates hand-drawn animation where every frame flows from human hands. A single three-second scene of rain requires 300 individual drawings, each droplet placed with intention. His studio's dedication earned Spirited Away the first Academy Award for an anime film and $360 million in global box office.
Following ChatGPT's latest update, social media floods with AI-generated Ghibli portraits, made with a prompt and half a cent.
When I visited Japan in 2017, my host took me to a theater showing Ghibli classics after our meetings in Ginza, Tokyo. ‘To understand Japan, you must understand Miyazaki,’ he said. What followed was Spirited Away - a meditation on environmentalism, consumerism, and identity. Throughout the film, Chihiro must remember her true name to maintain humanity in a world where greed transforms humans into monsters.
When Miyazaki encountered AI animation, he stated: ‘I am utterly disgusted. This is an insult to life itself.’ Something essential was missing - the understanding that comes through human creation.
In Murshidabad, weavers embedded prayers into fabric, with certain patterns reserved for specific ceremonies. Their fingers carried history and cultural identity woven into each thread.
The Hermès Birkin is handcrafted over 48 hours by artisans who train for years, versus a ‘Wirkin’ replica. Though identical to the eye, one carries tradition, craftsmanship, and heritage. Which would we rather own?
Joseph Campbell observed that ‘what we're seeking is an experience of being alive.’ Perhaps this explains why we still seek handcrafted goods, original art, and human connection. The meaning isn't in the appearance but in the human story behind creation.
What happens when we get the product without the meaning behind it?
As AI generates perfect simulacra of human creativity, we face a question more profound than tech capability: what becomes of the meaning we once found in human creation?
In the textile town of Murshidabad in Eastern India, 19th century weavers created muslin so fine it was called 'woven air.' A single artisan spent months crafting fabric with 1,800 threads per inch, so delicate that 20 yards could pass through a ring. Indian muslin clothed emperors and queens, with each piece carrying generations of knowledge passed from master to apprentice.
When British industrial looms arrived, they replicated the patterns for a fraction. A tradition dating to 3000 BC collapsed. Muslin weavers, unable to compete with mechanized efficiency, reportedly had their thumbs severed to prevent them from practicing their craft. An imperial report from 1850 coldly noted that ‘the bones of the cotton weavers were bleaching the plains of India.’
As someone from India, this was part of my education, tales of how industrial efficiency often renders cultural meaning invisible.
Hayao Miyazaki, founder of Studio Ghibli, creates hand-drawn animation where every frame flows from human hands. A single three-second scene of rain requires 300 individual drawings, each droplet placed with intention. His studio's dedication earned Spirited Away the first Academy Award for an anime film and $360 million in global box office.
Following ChatGPT's latest update, social media floods with AI-generated Ghibli portraits, made with a prompt and half a cent.
When I visited Japan in 2017, my host took me to a theater showing Ghibli classics after our meetings in Ginza, Tokyo. ‘To understand Japan, you must understand Miyazaki,’ he said. What followed was Spirited Away - a meditation on environmentalism, consumerism, and identity. Throughout the film, Chihiro must remember her true name to maintain humanity in a world where greed transforms humans into monsters.
When Miyazaki encountered AI animation, he stated: ‘I am utterly disgusted. This is an insult to life itself.’ Something essential was missing - the understanding that comes through human creation.
In Murshidabad, weavers embedded prayers into fabric, with certain patterns reserved for specific ceremonies. Their fingers carried history and cultural identity woven into each thread.
The Hermès Birkin is handcrafted over 48 hours by artisans who train for years, versus a ‘Wirkin’ replica. Though identical to the eye, one carries tradition, craftsmanship, and heritage. Which would we rather own?
Joseph Campbell observed that ‘what we're seeking is an experience of being alive.’ Perhaps this explains why we still seek handcrafted goods, original art, and human connection. The meaning isn't in the appearance but in the human story behind creation.
What happens when we get the product without the meaning behind it?
As AI generates perfect simulacra of human creativity, we face a question more profound than tech capability: what becomes of the meaning we once found in human creation?
