Tom Hanks is game for the rise of artificial intelligence and deepfakes, but he’s still trying to protect his real semblance as technology – and a money-hungry industry – gets smarter. The star discussed the state of synthetic media as a guest on Adam Buxton’s podcastwhere he revealed that there were “discussions going on in all of the unions, all of the agencies, all of the legal firms, to come up with the legal ramifications of my face and my voice – and the presence of everyone else’s – our intellectual property.”
Back in January, news broke that Hanks and Robin Wright would star in the Robert Zemeckis film adaptation of here, A novel that follows the residents of one room over the course of several years. Zemeckis’ interest in artificial intelligence comes as no surprise, as the visual innovator is best known for pioneering motion capture in 2004. pole clarification – which is what Hanks pointed out.
“This was always lingering. The first time we made a movie that had an enormous amount of our private data locked up in a computer—just as we looked—was a movie called pole articulation,” He said. “We saw there was going to be this ability, to take the zeros and ones inside a computer and turn it into a face and a character.”
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Of course, a lot has changed in the past two decades, and technology now doesn’t just offer animation innovations – it allows us to change the appearance of real humans, if not copy and paste a deceased person into a brand new movie. According to Hanks, “I could meet and pitch a series of seven films that would star me and in which I’d be 32 years old. From now until Kingdom Comes on. Anyone can now recreate themselves at any age by means of artificial intelligence or deepfakes technology” .
“I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it, but my shows can go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on understanding that it was done with artificial intelligence or deepfakes then there would be nothing to say you’re not me alone,” the actor continued. “And you will have some degree of quality of life. That is certainly a technical challenge, but it is also a legal challenge.”
It’s technically possible to get late actors involved in new projects; After Bruce Willis was forced to retire last year due to a diagnosis of aphasia, an AI company created a replica of him for use in a commercial. But as Buxton points out, synthetic media will not be able to recreate the human nature of a professional live actor. “Without a doubt, people will be able to tell,” Hanks agreed. “But the question is, will they care?” Listen to Hanks’ full interview here.
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The premiere of Hanks’ Amputee is scheduled for here in 2024. Before that, 66-year-old Hanks will appear in Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City From 16 June.
