And So It Begins: Celebrity AI
Yesterday, Tom Hanks posted a screengrab of a video on his Instagram warning his followers about a company using his likeness via AI to promote a dental plan, saying he “[has] nothing to do with it.” The post showed a photo of what looks eerily similar to his face and torso, but also somehow has a bit of an uncanny valley feel to it, with the classic Instagram text on top.
This post marks for most people the beginning of what celebrities have feared since AI took over headlines a few years ago: unauthorized use of their faces and voices to sell products, services, and other content.
From a celebrity endorsement point of view, it’s a reminder that with the explosion of AI technology, no one is safe from companies exploiting their clout for sales. From an artistic point of view, it’s the next step in what we’ve been seeing for months on platforms like MidJourney and DALL-E, which create “brand-new” AI-generated content with simple text prompts.
The argument so far has been mostly focused on the art scene, with artists and creators disputing the definition of AI-generated content being “actual” art or not.
In April of this year, photographer Boris Eldagsen submitted an A.I.-generated image to a prestigious art competition to be ‘cheeky.’ Eldagsen, a Berlin-based photographer, decided he would test the judging panels at top photography awards by submitting AI-generated images using DALL-E. He disclosed his use of AI, but judges at the 2023 Sony World Photography Awards (SWPA) gave him the top prize anyway.
The use of AI was one of many sticking points during the monthslong Writers Guild of America strike, with writers asking studios to create guardrails against, in essence, being replaced by AI.
Everyone inside and outside the industry has seen this type of reckoning coming for a while. With the proliferation of deep fake tech and free-to-use AI platforms, it’s becoming more and more tangible that we could see entire movies written, edited, directed, and starring artificially-created entities.
This creates not only artistic provocations, challenging the way we as a society define “art,” but also legal ones, where anyone’s face or voice can be used to promote or espouse ideas without their consent.
For now, the US is still in very early stages of trying to create legislation related to AI. While there has been a lot of discussion about these topics, there has been very little movement by lawmakers and politicians on the tech.
When it comes to creativity, this is no doubt a space to keep your eye on.
