AI companies may not be using the likeness of artists without their consent, but businesses certainly are. There have been several instances where famous personalities have endorsed products and services they probably aren't even aware of, all thanks to AI, and Tom Hanks is speaking out about his own incident.
Tom Hanks and Dental Ads
The "Forrest Gump" actor took to Instagram to clarify that the dental ad surfacing on the internet had nothing to do with him, other than the fact that they used AI to recreate his likeness. The advertiser used deepfake technology to recreate Hanks without his consent.
Hanks with 9.5 million followers on the photo-centric app, posted a screenshot of the ad, along with a caption that said "BEWARE! There's a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me. I had nothing to do with it." The post now has more than 100,000 likes.
The actor was lucky enough to spot the ad so that he could clarify that he was not a knowing participant, unlike other artists who have been involved in such incidents where their appearance is also used without their knowledge.
Just this May, Hanks spoke about AI being used in the film industry, saying that he could "get together and pitch a series of seven movies" that would star him in them when he was 32 years old "from now on until kingdom come," as reported by Engadget.
Sadly, this is but a peek at how AI can be used in the future where showrunners will no longer need real actors. This issue has also been tackled in the SAG-AFTRA strikes as a way to start discussing policies before they escalate.
Actors, Writers vs. AI
The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are mostly about making sure that actors and writers get the pay they deserve, but the use of AI and the possibility of it replacing human workers have also been brought up in the negotiations.
The technology has become advanced enough that it is able to recreate the likeness of an actor as well as write scripts with the help of generative AI. People in the industry are starting to get worried that this may lead to unemployment as companies would prefer the cheaper option.
In fact, with the help of AI, actors wouldn't even need to be present or involved in the process. All the AI model will need is an image. There will come a time when legitimate companies might even use photos without the consent of the person in them.
As shown in Tom Hanks' situation, it has already begun. Even voice actors and musicians are at risk of losing their jobs over generative AI. With just a few recorded sentences, AI can recreate a voice and anyone can generate dialogues that can be said with it.
There have been several lawsuits as well concerning the use of artists' voices to create new music, such as the case of The Weekend and Drake. A collaboration between the two artists emerged and even though it was indicated as AI-generated, it shows just how possible it is.
