Ghibli AI, TikTok Tariffs & Headcount
5 in 5 - Brave & Heart HeartBeat #229 ❤️
This week we’ll be talking about the huge slap in the face OpenAI are giving Studio Ghibli, Meta’s newest child protection features and the future of the Australian social media ban.
Plus, we get the latest on the US TikTok ban and the future of proving you need real people in your team over AI agents.
Let's get into it.
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#1 - Introducing… Ghiblify
Hayao Miyazaki, the animation genius behind Studio Ghibli, once (8 years ago, to be precise) famously said that AI art is an “insult to life itself”. He says that AI art is created by something who has “no idea what pain is”. Basically, it’s soulless.
Well, luckily for him, OpenAI’s have a new tool on their image generation motor which allow ANYONE to “ghiblify” ANY image. Sam is so proud of it that he’s used it to create his profile picture on X.
Ignoring the question of copyright infringement, and the whole “fair use” argument that AI companies lean on when eating up copyrighted work, this is a huge slap in the face to Miyazaki himself.
And, almost everyone gleefully using a distorted, watered down version of Miyazaki’s life’s work to turn their profile photos into a cartoon, knows this.
Shame on Sam, and shame on you all.
#2 - Are Meta Protecting Children?
Hey, for once, maybe!
They’ve added some handy new safety measures for teenagers on Instagram as part of their extenstion of their under-18 safeguarding measures.
The highlights include being banned from using Instagram Live, which many celebrity parents wish had been in place for a long time (the Kardashian children are notorious for going live at inopportune times) and a feature that automatically blurs images containing suspected nudity from their direct messages.
Where has that last one been all our lives? Can they put it as a default for all women on all social media platforms too?
These measures will join the original limitations that parents could set on their childrens Instagram time, i.e. blocking them from using the app at night or during the school day, and the ability to see the accounts that are messaging their children.
Maybe the next generation of children will be spared some of the horrors…
#3 - Australian Social Media Ban
Speaking of the horrors, the Australian ban on social media for under 16s is well underway, and the government say that there is no room for negotiation.
It’s taking some time, however, as althought the bill was voted in November 2024 with bipartisan support, they’re still not exactly sure how to enforce the ban.
Age assurance technology trials are currently under way, which are being tested by schoolchildren themselves. Hopefully they’ll be open to the bill and not try and throw the tests…
The ban is due to come into effect in December, so just over six months for them to figure out how it will work, but another worry is whether the social media platforms themselves will cooperate.
Emboldened by Trump’s presidency, Meta have already gone crying to the president about Australia’s plans, and all the big social media companies are annoyed that YouTube seems to be getting an easy ride as it won’t be included in the ban.
We’re crossing our fingers, as saving the next young generation from social media would be an amazing result. Adolesence, anyone?
#4 – What’s The Deal With TikTok?
Trump has signed another executive order to exten the ban deadline a second time, kicking it down the road another 75 days.
ByteDance have said that they are in discussion with the US government to come up with a potential solution, but that any agreement will be “subject to approval under Chinese law”. That’s a big caveat considering the whopping 104% tax that Trump just took out on them…
In his usual style of a Bond villian who gives away all his secrets, Trump has told everyone that he’s going to use the tarifs as a negotiation tool. For example, offering lower tarifs if China agree to TikTok being bought out by a US company.
Those with their names reportedly in the ring include,Oracle, Amazon, Walmart, and the founder of OnlyFans.
How will this end?
#5 - Need Employees?
Well, if you work at Shopify, you’ll have to prove that AI can’t do it first.
Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke told employees that before they ask for extra headcount or resources they need to prove that they “cannot get what they want done using AI” in a broader memo about how “reflexive AI usage” is a “baseline expectation” at his company.
We’re in two minds.
It seems shocking, but when you’re running a business, headcount is expensive.
Lütke describes AI as being “the most rapid shift” in how work is carried out that he’s ever seen, and encourages learning to use AI will by “using it a lot”.
Is he right? Could using AI and AI agents well save all businesses money?
Or will it go the same way as remote working? Endorsed by bosses until they get worried that they’re paying their employees to get an easier ride than they did?
Brave & Heart over and out.
Bonus
Elon Musk vs. Canada
Elon Musk, the new bestie elect of the United States, is not American, as we all know.
However, he does have Canadian citizenship through his mother.
Perhaps not for much longer though, as 200,000 Canadians have signed a petition to revoke it.
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