Zelda Williams, the acclaimed late Robin Williams daughter criticized AI-generated replicas of her father’s resemblance calling them “personally disturbing.” Williams said in a story she posted on Instagram on Sunday: “I’ve already heard AI used to get his ‘voice’ to say whatever people want and while I find it personally disturbing, the ramifications go far beyond my feelings.”
Zelda went on to write that she had witnessed attempts to replace or reproduce actors who are unable to provide their assent, such as her father, using AI. She added further on universally detested AI, “Living characters with their choices, to voice cartoons, to put their human effort and time into the pursuit of performance. These recreations are, at their very best, a poor facsimile of greater people, but at their worst, a horrendous Frankensteinian monster cobbled together from the worst bits of everything this industry is, instead of what it should stand for. “
At the age of 63, Robin Williams committed suicide in 2014. The actor gained notoriety for his performances in “Aladdin,” “Dead Poets Society,” and “Good Will Hunting.” Zelda Williams has long been opposed to actors being replaced by AI. Zelda criticized a director in 2019 for wanting to artificially reanimate the late James Dean actor for the movie “Finding Jack.”
Williams’ criticism about AI is shared by others as well. Tom Hanks, an actor, wrote a post on Instagram on Sunday informing his followers that an AI deepfake of his appearance is being used to advertise dentistry plans and claiming he has “nothing to do with it.” Brad Ziffer, a voice actor, declared in June that he was avoiding projects that would allow businesses to produce an AI-generated voice copy out of concern for the future viability of his career.
Williams’ remarks now come amidst a raging discussion about AI use in the media sector. One of the main demands of the Screen Actors Guild strike was protection against AI. Williams has also voiced opposition to studios’ proposals to scan background performers to create digital likenesses that the studios can keep forever.
