Tom Hanks alerts the public to an impersonation of him in a dental advertisement
Concerns over the unchecked use of artificial intelligence have led Mr. Hanks and CBS anchor Gayle King to claim that their likenesses were used in unlawful commercials...
Gayle King, a co-host of "CBS Mornings," and Tom Hanks have independently alerted their social media followers that videos featuring fake adverts have likenesses of them created by artificial intelligence.
"People keep sending me this video and asking about this product, and I have NOTHING to do with this company," Ms. King said on Instagram on Monday, attaching a video that she claimed had been altered from a genuine post promoting her radio show on August 31.
The edited video, which she published with the words "Fake Video" stamped over it, showed Ms. King claiming that her direct messages were "overflowing" and advising others to "follow the link" to find out more about her weight reduction "secret."
She stated, "I've never heard of this product or used it!" "Please don't fall for these AI videos' tricks."
It was not immediately obvious what weight-loss product or business the advertisement was endorsing.
On Saturday, Mr. Hanks issued a similar caution, claiming that a dental plan commercial that used his image without his permission was false and based on an AI version of him.
Over a screenshot of the ostensible advertisement, he commented "Beware!!" on Instagram. There is a video floating around that features an AI version of me marketing some dentistry plan. I'm not involved in it at all.
It wasn't apparent which business had exploited Mr. Hanks' image or what goods were being promoted. The business was not specifically mentioned or tagged by Mr. Hanks. No mention of the video appeared elsewhere on social media.
On Monday, inquiries regarding the commercial, including if Mr. Hanks intended to pursue legal action or if he had asked for the ad to be taken down from social media, were met with silence by Mr. Hanks' representatives.
A spokeswoman for Meta, the parent company of Instagram, stated in an email that it was "against our policies to run ads that use public figures in a deceptive nature in order to try to scam people out of money." He did not explicitly address the advertisements, though.
The spokesman stated, "We have devoted significant resources to combating these kinds of ads and have dramatically enhanced our enforcement, including suspending and deleting accounts, pages, and ads that violate our standards.
According to Christa Robinson, a spokesperson for CBS News, Ms. King was alerted to the video that included her likeness by friends. Representatives on her behalf have repeatedly asked that the bogus video be removed, according to Ms. Robinson.
One of the many issues that caused friction during the months-long Writers Guild of America strike—which ended late last month—was the usage of AI.
Language was developed by entertainment industry lawyers to answer guild worries about artificial intelligence and screenplays owned by studios. Similar to this, SAG-AFTRA, the union for Hollywood actors, which has been on strike since July 14 is worried about artificial intelligence. It raises concerns that, without authorization or payment, performers could be represented digitally.
Just days before the start of the Hollywood writers' strike, Mr. Hanks gave a lengthy interview about the employment of artificial intelligence. He said on "The Adam Buxton Podcast" that he initially employed comparable technology for the 2004 movie "Polar Express."
We anticipated this, he said. We anticipated that a computer would have the capacity to create faces and characters out of nothing more than zeros and ones. Since then, that has only multiplied by a billion, and we can see it everywhere.
Mr. Hanks claimed that the legal implications of an actor claiming ownership of his or her voice and face as intellectual property were being discussed by guilds, agencies, and law firms.
He considered the possibility of pitching a run of 32-year-old movies that would feature him. With the help of artificial intelligence or deep-fake technologies, "anyone can now recreate themselves at any age," he claimed.
"Performances can go on, but I could get run over by a bus tomorrow," he warned. "And there won't be anything to let you know that it's not just me and me, except from the knowledge that it was done with A.I. or deep-fake. And it will be quite lifelike in appearance. Undoubtedly, that presents an artistic difficulty, but it also does so legally.
There are worries about how sensitive data might be handled, the veracity of A.I.-generated answers, and how criminals might use the technology as A.I. spreads and as businesses start experimenting with it.
There are currently more questions than there are answers. This summer, lawmakers and policy experts gave the impression that the United States was just beginning the lengthy and arduous process of developing laws governing artificial intelligence.