Analysis Artificial intelligence
Negotiation over the use of AI between the US actors’ union and Hollywood studios could determine the viability of acting as a career, finds Jeremy Hsu
ACTOR Tom Hanks speculated in a recent interview that artificial intelligence could one day recreate him on screen, keeping his likeness performing long after his death. “I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it, but my performances can go on and on and on… Outside of the understanding that it’s been done by AI or deepfake, there’ll be nothing to tell you that it’s not me,” said Hanks.
The use of AI to create such “digital twins” or clone an actor’s voice is set to become a key point in discussions between Hollywood studios and the union representing US actors and performers. The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) is set to start negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on 7 June.
At stake is who will retain control over digital doppelgängers used in film and television. If studios gain sole control over the rights to an actor’s likeness, they could potentially use the digital twin in any number of sequels and spin-offs without paying actors or even getting permission.
“An actor might find that they have lost control of their digital twin, who now gets more work than the original actor, without any compensation flowing to the original actor,” says Ryan Meyer at US law firm Dorsey & Whitney.
Studios have already used AIs to modify or enhance existing performances. For example, AI has placed new lips speaking different languages onto the face of an actor who never spoke those words. It has also improved de-ageing visual effects by erasing “decades from Harrison Ford in the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”, says Meyer.
Some projects are already using AI to keep actors’ performances going. James Earl Jones has retired, but he approved the use of his AI-replicated voice in future Star Wars content that may require the iconic rasp of Dar
