AI Tom Hanks used in dental advert without actor’s permission
Hanks said he had "nothing to do" with the advert for a dental plan
Tom Hanks has told fans that he had “nothing to do” with an AI version of himself used in a new advert for a dental plan.
The advert sees a digitally recreated version of the legendary actor selling products from a dental company, and Hanks told his Instagram followers that he was not involved in the process and warned them against scams.
warned fans that an ad for a dental plan that appears to use his image is in fact fake and was created using artificial intelligence.
“BEWARE!!” he wrote, alongside a photo of the AI version of himself. “There’s a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me. I have nothing to do with it.”
Hanks has previously shared both his worries and fascination at the rise of AI, telling The Adam Buxton Podcast this year: “Anybody can now recreate themselves at any age they are by way of AI or deep fake technology. I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it, but performances can go on and on and on and on.
“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.”
He went on to discuss how “all of the guilds, all of the agencies, and all of the legal firms” are currently trying to work out “the legal ramifications of my face and my voice and everybody else’s being our intellectual property.
“Without a doubt people will be able to tell [that it’s AI], but the question is will they care? There are some people that won’t care, that won’t make that delineation,” he added.