Sorry for Shroud-Waving but Here's a Sign AI Will Destroy Hollywood as We Know It
Many famous actors have already faced the problems that the new technology brings.
Summary
- The potential dangers of artificial intelligence have been discussed for several years now.
- Like writers, actors can be harmed by AI, too.
- Several A-listers' identities have been stolen by AI this year.
Artificial intelligence has been a hot topic for several years now. While some people fear its advent, saying it could potentially destroy humanity, others are more optimistic, hoping the technology could help us progress. Doomsday scenarios aside, there's still ground for fear, as AI could indeed change our world significantly.
In particular, there are hundreds of jobs that could be performed solely by artificial intelligence with little to no human intervention - including writing. As a result, millions of people could lose their jobs, which no one is really happy about. Perhaps for this reason, the WGA protested the use of AI in the film and television industry during this year's strike.
Remarkably, SAG-AFTRA is also striking against it. In their case, however, the problem with AI isn't as obvious. But here's an example of how the new technology can actually harm actors.
Avengers Actress's Identity Was Stolen by AI
Scarlet Johansson, known to Marvel fans as Black Widow, is currently suing a company that develops AI apps for using her image - and, mind you, her voice - in an advertisement without her permission. Posted on social media, the ad featured a snippet of a behind-the-scenes clip of Black Widow, in which the actress greets viewers and asks them to follow her.
Then the old video was replaced with deepfake Scarlet Johansson, accompanied by a voice that closely resembled the actress'. And the artificial Scarlet went on to endorse the app and tell viewers about its functions.
Legal Action
While Johansson herself hasn't made any public comments about the issue, her legal team has taken action and is currently suing the app developer. Consequently, the ad has been removed from the net, but its content remains available through mass media coverage.
As for Johansson, judging by her legal team's statements, the actress was shocked by AI's capacity.
'We do not take these things lightly. Per our usual course of action in these circumstances, we will deal with it with all legal remedies that we will have,' Scarlet Johansson's attorney said in an interview.
Remarkably, it isn't the only case of a top-tier actor's identity theft. Earlier this year, Tom Hanks pleaded to the world to pay attention to the dangers of AI after his image was used in an AI-generated dental prosthetics commercial.
'Beware! … I have nothing to do with it,' the two-time Oscar winner wrote on his social media.
We're not saying AI is physically dangerous, but it seems capable of putting millions of people out of work and shattering the integrity of everyone's personal image.
Source: Variety.