ACTOR SCARLETT JOHANSSON TAKES LEGAL ACTION AGAINST AI APP THAT USED HER LIKENESS

Thu 02 October 2023:

Scarlett Johansson has filed a lawsuit against an AI application that used her name and likeness without her permission in an AI-generated advertising.

The 22-second ad, posted by an image producing software called Lisa AI: 90’s Yearbook & Avatar on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, uses real footage of Johansson to construct a phony look and conversation for her.

The advertisement. It appears to no longer be on X, where it originated.

Representatives for the 38-year-old actor confirmed to Variety that she is not a spokesperson for the company and that appropriate legal actions were taken since it was spotted on 28 October. “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,” her lawyer, Kevin Yorn told Variety. The ad has since been taken down.

The video, reviewed by Variety, opened with a behind the scenes clip of Johansson from the set of the Marvel film Black Widow. “What’s up guys? It’s Scarlett and I want you to come with me … ” she says, before the screen transitions into AI-generated photos that resemble her. A voice imitating the actor continues speaking to promote the app: “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 fake narration says.

The fine print under the advertisement says: “Images produced by Lisa AI. It has nothing to do with this person.” Multiple apps by Lisa AI remain on the App Store and Google Play.

ohansson is the latest celebrity to take issue with the alleged misuse of her likeness in AI, as deepfakes — a type of artificial media in which people’s faces are replaced with those of other people — and the technology behind them becomes more sophisticated.

Actors have also been sounding the alarm about AI images for some time. The digitally altered images have been a sticking point in the negotiations between the Hollywood studios and SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, which is on strike.

Last month, actor Tom Hanks posted on Instagram that he had “nothing to do with” a computer-generated image of him “promoting some dental plan.” Zelda Williams, the daughter of the late actor/comedian Robin Williams, called the AI recreations of him circulating on the internet “personally disturbing.” And YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson, who goes by Mr Beast, also shared with his millions of followers that a deepfake advertisement using his likeness was a scam. The advertisement he posted about was quickly removed from TikTok.

It’s also not the first time Johansson has experienced her image used without her consent. In 2018, the actor spoke to the Washington Post about the use of her image in computer-generated “deepfakes” in which women’s faces are artificially added to pornographic videos. “Nothing can stop someone from cutting and pasting my image or anyone else’s onto a different body and making it look as eerily realistic as desired,” she said. “There are basically no rules on the internet because it is an abyss that remains virtually lawless, withstanding US policies which, again, only apply here.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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