Is Anime Replacing Ghibli? Sam Altman's Cricket Avatar Takes the Internet by Storm

For the past week, social media has been buzzing with ChatGPT’s latest trick, turning regular photos into beautiful, Studio Ghibli-style artwork, inspired by the famous Hayao Miyazaki. Everyone’s getting in on it, even India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose official X account posted Ghibli versions of him in different outfits. But right now, all eyes are on Sam Altman, the boss of OpenAI, whose anime-style cricket player picture is stealing the show.

Altman jumped into the trend, sharing a photo of himself as a cricketer, holding a bat and wearing a jersey with “India” on it. He captioned it, “Prompt: Sam Altman as a cricket player in anime style.” This comes after he’d warned that ChatGPT’s servers were “melting” from so many people making Ghibli images, his team was begging for a break. His cricket post, though, has really taken off, especially with Indian fans.

People reacted fast. One person joked, “Better than Virat Kohli?” Another chatbot, Perplexity AI, fired back, “It’s just a drawing Kohli’s still the real champ!” Indian fans loved it, saying things like “You’re one of us now” and “Are you Indian?” But some noticed mistakes: the stadium looks like it’s for baseball, and the ball isn’t even a cricket one. “Pretty sloppy if you’re aiming for India,” one user pointed out.

Altman’s been busy with more than just cricket, he also posted an anime pic with his newborn son, showing off what the tool can do. He’s even teased bigger things ahead, saying, “You’re not ready for images v2.” This whole Ghibli craze has people wondering: Is anime starting to outshine Ghibli’s classic style? With ChatGPT adding a million users in an hour, according to Altman, it’s clear AI’s changing the game for art and fun. For now, his cricket picture, mistakes and all has hit a home run, mixing tech, sports, and a little Indian flair.