After AI-generated video goes viral: Scarlett Johansson calls for regulation
An AI-generated video featuring Scarlett Johansson and other celebrities is currently going viral. Johansson once again calls for a crackdown by the government.
(Image: Silvi Photo/Shutterstock.com)
Actress Scarlett Johansson is calling for the regulation of artificial intelligence after an AI-generated video of deepfakes of her and other Jewish celebrities dissing Kanye West goes viral. The celebrities are wearing T-shirts with Kanye West's name on them, showing a middle finger with a Jewish star in it. The video now has more than 31,000 likes on Instagram.
The video, which can be seen on Instagram, shows Johansson as well as AI-generated versions of Steven Spielberg, Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI boss Sam Altman, Mila Kunis and Lenny Kravitz. It ends with an AI-generated Adam Sandler holding his middle fingers up to the camera and concludes with the sentences “Enough is Enough” and “Join the Fight Against Antisemitism”. Johansson did not give his consent for this. A note from Meta can be seen under the video: “This content was created digitally or altered using AI to appear real”.
In an interview with People, Johansson condemned what she described as “the misuse of AI, no matter what message it conveys”. She had been told by family members and friends that an AI-generated video featuring her likeness, in response to West's swastika T-shirt, was going viral and gaining traction. She has no tolerance for anti-Semitism or hate speech of any kind. However, she is against the misuse of AI of any kind “no matter what message it conveys, otherwise we risk losing touch with reality”, People quoted Johansson as saying.
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Johansson emphasized the need to pass laws limiting the use of such AI, calling it a bipartisan issue that has a huge impact on the immediate future of humanity.
Johansson repeatedly victimized by AI fakes
This is not the first time Johansson has been the victim of AI fakery. In November 2023, the actress threatened legal action against a company that had used her AI likeness without her permission for an advertisement, which was subsequently removed. In May 2024, she was “angered and shocked” by a voice released in September for ChatGPT's voiceover and various offshoots that were “frighteningly similar” to her voice. The resemblance appeared to have been intentional on Altman's part. After she took legal action, OpenAI “reluctantly” agreed to take her AI voice offline.
(mack)
