Actors Who Sold AI Avatars Stuck In Black Mirror-Esque Dystopia (arstechnica.com) 16
Some actors who sold their likenesses to AI video companies like Synthesia now regret the decision, after finding their digital avatars used in misleading, embarrassing, or politically charged content. Ars Technica reports: Among them is a 29-year-old New York-based actor, Adam Coy, who licensed rights to his face and voice to a company called MCM for one year for $1,000 without thinking, "am I crossing a line by doing this?" His partner's mother later found videos where he appeared as a doomsayer predicting disasters, he told the AFP. South Korean actor Simon Lee's AI likeness was similarly used to spook naive Internet users but in a potentially more harmful way. He told the AFP that he was "stunned" to find his AI avatar promoting "questionable health cures on TikTok and Instagram," feeling ashamed to have his face linked to obvious scams. [...]
Even a company publicly committed to ethically developing AI avatars and preventing their use in harmful content like Synthesia can't guarantee that its content moderation will catch everything. A British actor, Connor Yeates, told the AFP that his video was "used to promote Ibrahim Traore, the president of Burkina Faso who took power in a coup in 2022" in violation of Synthesia's terms. [...] Yeates was paid about $5,000 for a three-year contract with Synthesia that he signed simply because he doesn't "have rich parents and needed the money." But he likely couldn't have foreseen his face being used for propaganda, as even Synthesia didn't anticipate that outcome.
Others may not like their AI avatar videos but consider the financial reward high enough to make up for the sting. Coy confirmed that money motivated his decision, and while he found it "surreal" to be depicted as a con artist selling a dystopian future, that didn't stop him from concluding that "it's decent money for little work." Potentially improving the climate for actors, Synthesia is forming a talent program that it claims will give actors a voice in decision-making about AI avatars. "By involving actors in decision-making processes, we aim to create a culture of mutual respect and continuous improvement," Synthesia's blog said.
Even a company publicly committed to ethically developing AI avatars and preventing their use in harmful content like Synthesia can't guarantee that its content moderation will catch everything. A British actor, Connor Yeates, told the AFP that his video was "used to promote Ibrahim Traore, the president of Burkina Faso who took power in a coup in 2022" in violation of Synthesia's terms. [...] Yeates was paid about $5,000 for a three-year contract with Synthesia that he signed simply because he doesn't "have rich parents and needed the money." But he likely couldn't have foreseen his face being used for propaganda, as even Synthesia didn't anticipate that outcome.
Others may not like their AI avatar videos but consider the financial reward high enough to make up for the sting. Coy confirmed that money motivated his decision, and while he found it "surreal" to be depicted as a con artist selling a dystopian future, that didn't stop him from concluding that "it's decent money for little work." Potentially improving the climate for actors, Synthesia is forming a talent program that it claims will give actors a voice in decision-making about AI avatars. "By involving actors in decision-making processes, we aim to create a culture of mutual respect and continuous improvement," Synthesia's blog said.
Iago only knew the half of it: (Score:5, Insightful)
"Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands:
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed."
Except that they figured out how to make it enrich them after all. And you weren't robbed; you were fool enough to *sell* it.
You can have my likeness for 500 bucks (Score:2, Troll)
At least they got paid (Score:4, Interesting)
Like anything else in the industry their real mistake was not asking for a percentage instead of taking a flat fee.
Re: (Score:3)
In the future the digital actors will be created wholly from scratch without any human who serves as the basis for the model
And they will still look like somebody, somewhere, who more than likely will never know.
Re: At least they got paid (Score:4, Funny)
Black Mirror (Score:2)
What was the line? Selma Hayek sold her likeness and the attorney says that the company can picture her sucking off an Orangutang without recourse or something.
Re: Black Mirror (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Another True Black Mirror Prediction (Score:2)
The strange thing was that I saw the episode after 2015 and thought that this was Black Mirror poking fun at Cameron,
Re: (Score:2)
That was it, just watched that episode lol ("Joan is Awful" for those wondering)
Play stupid games... (Score:2)
... win stupid prizes. Seriously, looks to me these actors have no understanding of reality. All for a quick buck.
Re: Play stupid games... (Score:2)
The intersection between the set of people who exhibit attention-seeking behaviors and the set of people who become actors is quite high.
Attention-seekers by design seek attention more than they seek to satisfy other longer-term considerations.
Next they'll be complaining about drunks perpetually passing out near a drinking establishment or compulsive gamblers losing their money at a casino.
No shit.
Re: (Score:2)
No shit.
Indeed.
Black Mirror Streisand (Score:2)
Now those out of work, unknown actors can get their names out in (badly acted) incomprehension and anger about how their unknown likenesses were used in shady advertising with similarly miniscule audiences. Suddenly their names are on international media! (Thanks /.) In other words some of them may be stunned but now they can google their own names and find something.