If you need a new dental plan, maybe don’t go to Tom Hanks for advice.
The actor took to social media over the weekend to warn fans about an AI-generated video using his likeness to promote a new dental plan he did not authorize.
“BEWARE!! There’s a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me. I have nothing to do with it,” Hanks wrote in overlay text to his 9.5 million Instagram followers.
The AI-generated image looks like a younger version of the actor — or a photo that uses a bit of Facetune. It’s unclear what exactly the advertisement was for or what company made the doctored image, as Hanks didn’t name it or link out.
The advertisement is the latest example of the mounting concern over how AI technology could be dangerous and used with malicious intent.
During a podcast appearance on “The Adam Buxton Podcast” last May, Hanks noted that AI technology might be used as a way to place deceased actors in films but noted the “artistic” and “legal’ challenges.
“I could be hit by a bus tomorrow, and that’s it, but performances can go on and on and on and on,” Hanks said. “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.”
Hanks’ comments came at the beginning of the Writers’ Guild of America Strike in May, which raised questions about whether or not AI technology could be used to help write scripted shows.
WGA writers resumed work last week when the union reached a tentative three-year-long agreement with major studios, production companies, and streaming services in Hollywood.
Related: Tom Hanks Surprises Antique Shops With Typewriters: ‘They’re Showing Up On Doorsteps Unannounced’
