Tom Hanks has warned fans that an ad for a dental plan that appears to use his image is in fact fake and was created using artificial intelligence.
In a message posted to his 9.5 million Instagram followers, the actor said his image was used without his permission. “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 a computer-generated image of himself from the clip.
The Oscar winner has expressed concerns in the past about the use of AI in film and TV, although he has not shied away from approving digitally altered versions of himself in film.
Society is going to have to adjust to actually demand some proof of authenticity when it comes to content like this.
The good news is that techniques like public-private key cryptography do actually provide a way to do this, so at least on the technical side, this is a solvable problem. The harder part is getting people to question content that they want to be true, like political propaganda that affirms their own beliefs and biases.
Just imagine the mess we’ll be in when you can just generate an unlimited amount of videos of some disliked minority committing fake crimes and send them directly to people that you know will be receptive to radicalization, since you’ve already identified them through data brokers and targeted advertising.
Maybe this is just me getting older - hell, it probably is - but I’m getting more and more detached from tech in general and trying to find more meaning and enjoyment in real-life interaction, community, friendships, and connection, as well as more physical hobbies. I’m not convinced that humans are really equipped to mentally handle the world we’re creating, and I’m finding myself not wanting much to do with it.
Finding meaning away from tech is always a good idea. Helps us from getting completely sucked into the vortex of Silicon Valley.