Tom Hanks, the beloved Hollywood star, has alerted his fans about a video that uses an artificial intelligence (AI) version of him to promote a dental plan. The actor posted a message on his Instagram account, saying that he had no involvement with the video and that it was a hoax.
“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 over a screenshot of the fake video. The image shows a computer-generated version of Hanks smiling and holding a toothbrush.
The video, which has been circulating online, claims to offer a “Tom Hanks Dental Plan” that can save people money on dental care. The voice-over, which sounds like Hanks, says: “Hi, I’m Tom Hanks. And I want to tell you about a great way to keep your teeth healthy and save money at the same time.”
The video then shows a series of testimonials from people who claim to have benefited from the plan. The video ends with the slogan: “The Tom Hanks Dental Plan. It’s like having a friend in the dental business.”
Actor has expressed concerns about AI in film
Hanks, who has won two Oscars for his roles in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, has previously expressed his worries about the use of AI and deepfake technology in film and TV. He said that he was concerned about the legal and artistic implications of his face and voice being used without his permission.
“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 to come up with the legal ramifications of my face and my voice – and everybody else’s – being our intellectual property,” Hanks said in an interview with British comedian Adam Buxton on his podcast in May.
He added that he could theoretically pitch a series of movies that would star him as a 32-year-old forever, using AI or deepfake technology. “I could be hit by a bus tomorrow, and that’s it, but performances can go on and on and on and on. And outside of the understanding that it’s been done with AI or 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,” he said.
Hanks has also used digital versions of himself in some of his films, such as The Polar Express (2004), where he played several characters using motion capture technology. He also appeared as a younger version of himself in some scenes of A Man Called Otto (2022), using de-aging effects.
AI and deepfake technology pose ethical and legal challenges
The use of AI and deepfake technology to create realistic images and videos of celebrities and other people has raised ethical and legal questions. Some celebrities have taken legal action to protect their image and personality rights from being exploited or misused by others.
For example, Indian actor Anil Kapoor, who starred in Slumdog Millionaire (2008), won a landmark court case in September against unauthorized AI-generated images of himself. A Delhi court prohibited “misusing his personality attributes without his permission in any manner”. Kapoor said that he filed the lawsuit after discovering deepfake content of himself and his characters online.
“It’s not only for me. Today I’m there to protect myself, but when I’m not there, the family should have the right to protect my (personality) and gain from it in future. Because of the way technology and the AI technology […] which can completely take advantage of and be misused commercially, as well as where my image, voice, morphing, GIFs and deep fakes are concerned, I can straight away, if that happens, send a court order and injunction and they have to pull it down,” he told Variety after the ruling.
AI and deepfake technology can also be used for malicious purposes, such as spreading misinformation, propaganda, or harassment. Cybercriminals can also use celebrity images to create scam ads or phishing emails to trick people into giving away their personal or financial information.
