Even before the recent WGA and SAG strikes, the idea of studios abusing artificial intelligence (A.I.) for use in films and TV series was being discussed. Sure, we are scared of a world where studios use generative A.I. (such as ChatGPT and its various clones) to develop scripts and whatnot. But well before then, we’ve seen studios such as Lucasfilm use A.I. to replicate the use of someone’s voice and create new dialogue without the performer present. And folks like Zelda Williams, the daughter of legendary comedian Robin Williams, are worried this “disturbing” practice could become the norm.
READ MORE: Joe Russo Says “Everyone Should Be Scared Of AI,” Especially When Used By Corporations
In a recent Instagram post (via EW), Zelda Williams shared her thoughts on A.I. being used to replicate the voice of actors and giving new performances. She specifically mentioned how she has heard A.I. replicate the voice of her late-father, Robin Williams, and she finds the results really disheartening. Not just because the performance is a “poor facsimile” but also because it’s just a disturbing abuse of technology, creating a world where deceased actors (or living for that matter) can be taken advantage of by a studio for profit.
“I am not an impartial voice in SAG’s fight against AI,” wrote Williams. “I’ve witnessed for YEARS how many people want to train these models to create/recreate actors who cannot consent, like Dad. This isn’t theoretical, it is very very real. I’ve already heard AI used to get his ‘voice’ to say whatever people want and while I find it personally disturbing, the ramifications go beyond my own feelings.”
She continued, “Living actors deserve a chance to create characters with their choices, to voice cartoons, to put their HUMAN effort and time into the pursuit of performance. These recreations are, at their very best, a poor facsimile of greater people, but at their worst, a horrendous Frankensteinian monster, cobbled together from the worst bits of everything this industry is, instead of what it should stand for.”
Now, it should be noted that we are relatively new, as a society, to using A.I. in terms of generative art. This is something that is still in its infancy, and some filmmakers have predicted a future that is fairly bleak if you believe in the the creation of real art from real humans. This is definitely something that is being argued in the SAG strike, but it is also something that will likely continue to evolve and become even more ubiquitous. Hell, just recently, Tom Hanks posted something on Instagram where a company has used an A.I. version of his likeness to promote a product he is not associated with.
Needless to say, the idea of A.I. being abused by studios isn’t a far-fetched one. And as the technology grows and is perfected, the possibilities are limitless. We’ll just have to see how SAG and other Hollywood groups can keep it contained.
Here’s the aforementioned post by Tom Hanks:
