Tom Hanks is issuing a warning about AI, and how it could impact the film industry.
An online ad for dentistry showed a deepfake of Tom Hanks promoting it. Hanks quickly disowned the ad, and brought up the issue of celebrities being impersonated. The Guardian reports:
Tom Hanks has warned fans that an ad for a dental plan that appears to use his image is in fact fake and was created using artificial intelligence.
In a message posted to his 9.5 million Instagram followers, the actor said his image was used without his permission. “BEWARE!! There’s a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me. I have nothing to do with it,” Hanks wrote over a screenshot of a computer-generated image of himself from the clip.
Hanks had previously mentioned how even if he died, his “avatar” could continue making movies. De-aging technology had previously been used in Star Wars and the Irishman among others.
Earlier this year, while Hanks was a guest on The Adam Buxton Podcast, the 67-year-old commented on the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it’s being used in film to de-age celebrities, noting it has the potential to create an entire performance from an actor after their death.
“I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it, but my performances can go on and on and on,” he said. “And outside of the understanding that it’s been done by AI or deepfake, there’ll be nothing to tell you that it’s not me and me alone. And it’s going to have some degree of lifelike quality.”
The legal industry will need to update its practices to keep up with evolving technology. Enforcement mechanisms will also be tightened, which could include more real id verification.
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