Tom Hanks Warns Fans of AI Generated Deepfake

On Saturday, the Oscar-winning actor took to Instagram to warn fans of an AI-generated video of the actor promoting a dental program. In the post, the actor said “BEWARE!! There’s a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me. I have nothing to do with it.”

Interestingly enough, the AI deep fake looks very much like the actor during the mid to late 90s. And this comes several months after the actor opened up about his views on AI and the movie industry.

During an episode of The Adam Buxton Podcast, the actor shared his thoughts on how AI was likely inevitable and how fans of the future will see an AI-generated avatar of the actor in a movie long after his death. Though the interview had a great deal of detail, some bits gave listeners some insights into his views on AI.

About deep fakes, Hanks said, “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.”

He went on to open up on how he viewed the technology as a challenge to not only the artists but also the law, “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.”

In that point, Hanks touched on one of the larger issues that ignited the writer’s strike over the summer, AI in Hollywood. “all of the guilds, all of the agencies, and all of the legal firms” are talking about “the legal ramifications of my face and my voice and everybody else’s being our intellectual property.”

Though AI is still a topic of division in Hollywood, it seems that it will once again reach the forefront as more and more deepfakes continue to be produced using the likeness of real humans. As for the deepfake, Tom Hank’s message has garnered over one hundred thousand likes and is a hot topic of discussion on the social media platform.