Tom Hanks warns fans of AI dental plan ad

Tom Hanks is warning his fans about a video he says uses an “AI version” of himself to sell a dental plan.

The Oscar winner posted a screenshot on Instagram on Sept. 30 from the video showing a similarly creepy image of himself.

“CAREFUL!!” the 67-year-old actor wrote above the image. “There’s a video out there promoting a dental plan with an AI version of me.”

He added, “I have nothing to do with it,” before signing his name.

It is unclear where the video originated and what dental plan the video was promoting. Hanks’ representatives did not immediately respond to TODAY.com’s request for further comment.

The “Sleepless in Seattle” star has drawn attention to the dangerous potential of artificial intelligence and deep forgery before.

In May, he was a guest on the Adam Buxton Podcast and talked about AI that could affect movies in the future.

He said that movies with AI versions of actors could become “a real possibility”. He also pointed out that technology allows actors to “recreate themselves at any age.”

“I might get hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it, but my shows can go on and on,” Hanks said. “And outside of realizing it’s AI or deepfake, there’s not going to be anything to tell you it’s not just me and me.”

The “Forrest Gump” actor continued, “And it’s going to have a certain lifelike quality to it. And that’s certainly an artistic challenge, but it’s also a legal challenge.”

He told host Adam Buxton that fans will likely be able to tell the difference but may not care.

Zelda Williams, daughter of Robin Williams, also spoke out against the use of AI on October 1 and shared on her Instagram story that she’s heard of people wanting to recreate AI models of actors “who can’t agree” to her , like her father. , who died in 2014.

“This is not theoretical, it is very real”, she wrote. “I’ve already heard of HE using his ‘voice’ to say whatever people want and while I find it personally disturbing, the ramifications go far beyond my feelings.”

She said that at best, AI recreations are a “poor facsimile of larger humans” but are “at their worst, a hideous Frankensteinian monster, pieced together from the worst parts of of all that this industry is, rather than what it should stand for.”

Her statement ties into ongoing negotiations on the use of AI in the entertainment industry between SAG-AFTRA and the Motion Picture and Television Alliance. Round table talks on the union strike, which began on July 14, resume on October 2.

(Comcast, the corporation that owns TODAY’s parent company, NBCUniversal, is one of the entertainment companies represented by AMPTP.)


@zeldawilliams / Instagram

Hanks isn’t the only celebrity to have their likeness used without their knowledge to promote a product.

In October 2022, Oprah Winfrey warned her fans after her name and photo were included in an ad for weight-loss meats.

She posted a video on Instagram confirming that she disapproved of the supplement.

“I have nothing to do with weight loss meats or diet pills and I don’t want you all to take advantage of people misusing my name. So please know that I don’t have the guts to lose weight,” she said.

In the caption she wrote: “Fraud alert! Please don’t buy weight loss gum with my picture or name on it. There have been social media ads, fake emails and websites and I want you to hear it straight from me, that I have nothing to do with them.”

Winfrey also asked her fans not to engage with the ad to avoid compromising their personal information.

Check Also

Lawsuit against Premier Dental Group of Knoxville settled

The lawsuit alleged the Knoxville dental office put patients through unnecessary procedures and lied on …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *