Although Scarlett Johansson’s voice is back on screen, this isn’t a follow-up to Spike Jonze’s “Her.” In place of Johansson, an AI-powered imitation of her appears in an advertisement for Lisa AI: 90s Yearbook & Avatar. Given that the AI app used her name and likeness in a marketing campaign, the actress is now suing the company. The advertisement, which was removed from Twitter on October 28, had a behind-the-scenes photo of Johansson stating, “What’s up guys? It’s Scarlett and I want you to come with me… It’s not limited to avatars only. You can also create images with texts and even your AI videos. I think you shouldn’t miss it.”
The text of the advertisement reads, “Images produced by Lisa AI. It has nothing to do with this person.”
Johansson is not an endorser of the app, and her lawyer Kevin Yorn has acknowledged that the tape was published without her permission. Yorn stated in a statement to Variety, “We do not take these things lightly. Per our usual course of action in these circumstances, we will deal with it with all legal remedies that we will have.”
Hanks in response to the growing use of AI in Hollywood. He stated, “I can tell you that there [are] discussions going on in all of the guilds, all of the agencies, and all of the legal firms in order to come up with the legal ramifications of my face and my voice — and everybody else’s — being our intellectual property.” He added, “What is a bona fide possibility right now, if I wanted to, I could get together and pitch a series of seven movies that would star me in them in which I would be 32 years old from now until kingdom come,” Hanks said. “Anybody can now recreate themselves at any age they are, by way of A.I. or deep fake technology…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 A.I. or deep fake, 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.”
