Tom Hanks has warned fans that an artificial intelligence (AI) version of his likeness is being used without his consent in an online advert for a dental plan.
The Oscar-winning actor shared a screenshot of his AI-generated lookalike on Instagram, telling his 9.5 million followers that it is not him in the clip and that he has no affiliation with the company or its promotional video. He confirmed that the image circulating is a fake created using AI technology 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 on the photo of his AI counterpart.
Hanks previously acknowledged the rise of AI in the entertainment industry and the potential implications of these new technologies. Speaking on The Adam Buxton Podcast in May, Hanks considered some of the ethical and legal challenges AI poses, particularly regarding performances continuing beyond a person's death.
"I could be hit by a bus tomorrow, and that's it, but performances can go on and on and on and on," he said. "Outside the understanding of AI and 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. That's certainly an artistic challenge, but it's also a legal one."
Robin Williams' daughter Zelda also recently took to Instagram to condemn the "disturbing" use of AI to recreate her late father's voice and other actors who cannot consent to it, saying: "these recreations are, at their very best, a poor facsimile of greater people, but at their worst, a horrendous Frankensteinian monster."
AI has been a hot topic of conversation in union circles representing writers and actors during the dual strikes in Hollywood this year, with both groups demanding protections against AI technology using actors' likenesses without consent or compensation, in addition to other rules and regulations around the practice.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has since ended their historic five-month strike and made a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) remains on the picket lines and will restart negotiations with studios this week to try and reach an agreement.
As Hollywood continues to grapple with the rise of AI, more and more people have voiced their opinions on the technology, with Tim Burton slamming AI-generated art, a WandaVision background actor raising concerns over "digital replicas", and James Cameron warning of the potential dangers it could present in the future.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.
