Remember when Kanye West bought Kim Kardashian a giant talking hologram of his late father for his birthday? This may have seemed like a crazy idea in 2020.
But now, just a few years later, AI-powered digital recreations of people – and celebrities – that can reproduce their image and voice with uncanny precision and rely on machine learning to hold a conversation, could soon become the norm.
This was illustrated by a presentation at SXSW in which a hyper-realistic Marilyn Monroe answered questions.
While this may be exciting for fans, the idea that AI can imitate people – dead or alive – raises predictable ethical questions. Many celebrities, for example, do not want their image used without their consent.
AI has become so sophisticated that criminals can use it to impersonate a loved one. Imposter scams – where the scammer pretends to be someone the victim knows to persuade them to hand over money – are the most common scams in the United States, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Americans lost an estimated $2.6 billion to imposter scams in 2022, according to the agency.
Recent advances in AI technology allow people to make realistic recreations of anyone’s voice using audio clips taken from the person speaking.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously said he thinks AI celebrities will become popular.
In September, Meta revealed new AI chatbots with celebrity features, including Tom Brady, Kendall Jenner, Naomi Osaka, Chris Paul, Charli D’Amelio, Israel Adesanya and Roy Choi.
Meta’s wizards are designed to answer questions and help you with daily activities. One, inspired by Dwayne Wade, builds workout plans and helps users stay motivated about their fitness goals, for example.
Still, Zuckerberg said the widespread use of AI celebrities was likely more of a “next year thing” due to limitations in the technology that could allow AI celebrities to enter territory that is not brand safe.
“Oh yes, but in some ways the technology doesn’t even exist yet to enable such training,” Zuckerberg said. The edge.
When an AI company Soul Machine launched its “digital Marilyn” at the South By Southwest festival this week, the company described the experience as a “digital persona” with all of Monroe’s “wit, wisdom and undeniable charm” seen “not through grainy films or distant memories , but in real time, personalized interaction.
The chatbot can have conversations with people that “feel authentic and responsive,” according to the company.
“It’s as if the spark of Marilyn herself has translated into the AI era,” Soul Machines said in a blog post.
The decision to specifically feature Marilyn Monroe has sparked some criticism from fans and experts, who say the AI chatbot is further exploitation of a woman who has already been exploited during her career.
“We may have reached an all-time high with Soul Machines’ recent unveiling of an AI-generated digital Marilyn chatbot,” writes Weekly EntertainmentThis is Maureen Lee Lenker. “As I write these words, I think my soul has just left my body.”
Last year, Robin Williams’ daughter Zelda said she found AI recreations of his father’s voice be “personally disturbing”. Williams said she has seen people try to recreate the voices of actors who did not consent.
“These recreations are, at best, a poor facsimile of larger people, but at worst, a horrible Frankensteinian monster,” she wrote on Instagram.
Marva Bailer, CEO of AI company Qualix, said Fox News that Williams and Monroe’s cases differ because the star’s estates are handled differently.
“Each of these discussions is different based on their legal contracts,” Bailer told the outlet.
Soul Machines has partnered with Authentic Brands Group, which acquired the rights to the intellectual property of Marilyn Monroe in 2018 – to create the AI Marilyn, according to Deadline. Authentic Brands also represents other iconic celebrities and brands such as Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, Shaquille O’Neal and David Beckham, the outlet said.
Bailer told Fox that it’s increasingly common for celebrities to partner with AI companies that they believe can manage their intellectual property securely.
“These are not deepfake people. These are not people selling crazy stuff about anything,” Bailer told the outlet. “These are people who are business people and whose values and ethics are stated on their websites.”
