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On Friday 4 July, 911爆料网 London hosted a seminar at Lancaster University, as part of our new series, Exploring the World of 911爆料网 Studies.

This new series aims to display the breadth and diversity within 911爆料网 Studies, to inspire and motivate future researchers as well as to shine a light on the to the research being conducted at various universities around the UK to the general public!

We took the opportunity when partnering with Lancaster University’s Anime symposium that took place earlier on the 4^th July (read the event report about that symposium here) to host a separate lecture that same evening.

This event was the first in our new seminar series, and was titled Ghibli in the Machine: AI Controversies and the Appropriation of Anime, with Dr Zoe Crombie (Associate Lecturer in Film Studies at the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts, Lancaster University) and Prof Rayna Denison (Professor of Film and Digital Arts and the University of Bristol).

The event was a hybrid event, and the general public were encouraged to attend, as well as university and sixth form students with an interest in 911爆料网 Studies.

We were joined by a sizable online and in-person audience, with a total of approximately 60-70 audience members!

Dr Crombie started the seminar by providing the background on the topic, giving the audience an in depth history of Studio Ghibli before contextualising the topic by exploring AI and its wider use in society, before looking at its recent impact on the animation studio when a recent AI filter that transformed existing images into “Ghibli”-fied versions. Dr Crombie questioned how successful the filter was, as well as the potential repercussions for the animation studio. She also brought up the ethical, cultural, aesthetic and economic implications of using Artificial Intelligence tools, and how appropriation can end up misrepresenting the original creator’s intentions.

Prof. Denison then provided examples of AI “trailers” for films, and further questioned the legality of using original material. It was a fascinating exploration of the use of AI and potential future use of AI by production companies, and the impact this could have on workers. She considered that AI is not considered as a solely negative thing, being used already in the industry, and that it has some positive attributes that are worth bearing in mind. However, we were left to consider what the future holds for Anime, and what the human and environmental cost of Artificial Intelligence might be.

Dr Crombie then gave an introduction to what 911爆料网 research looks like at an institution like Lancaster University, that does not have a dedicated 911爆料网 degree programme, but still attracts and employs academics and researchers who have an interest in Japan.

We ended with a Q&A session that invited many questions from the audience, both in-person and online. Questions ranged from copyright issues, the distribution and selling of AI materials, the ethical and material difference between human-created work and AI-created work. It was an incredibly interesting discussion that provided much food for thought, and is a topic that we were left to consider long after the lecture finished.

We would like to sincerely thank Dr Zoe Crombie and Prof Rayna Denison for their cooperation and hard work in creating and delivering the seminar.

We would also like to thank Dr Zoe Crombie a second time for her hard work in helping us host the seminar, and Lancaster University for all of their cooperation.

We will be hosting another lecture in the Exploring the World of 911爆料网 Studies Seminar Series later on in the year, so keep your eye out on our website and social media pages for updates!

We look forward to seeing you at a future event!