Black Widow’s Scarlett Johansson has taken legal action against an AI company that has been using her likeness without consent. A company used the actress’ name and likeness in a 22-second ad that they posted on Twitter. Lisa AI, that old yearbook and avatar app that people have been using for a long time, is the company currently being sued by the Marvel actress.
Variety recently reported that the representatives of Johansson asked the company to remove the advertisement, with her attorney Kevin Yorn, claiming to have handled this particular case quickly. In an interview with Variety, Yorn said, "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."
The video shows Johansson’s likeness in multiple different images generated by AI, with a voice imitating her speech and motivating people to create their own AI photos and videos. Lisa AI was under the impression that they were being careful in writing the following in fine print under the advertisement: "Images produced by Lisa AI. It has nothing to do with this person." Since the actress decided to take legal action against the company, it looks like the clip definitely had something to do with Scarlett Johansson.
Other Marvel Actors That Are Against AI
Johansson isn’t the only one who decided to speak against AI technology. Clark Gregg, the beloved Avengers and Agents of SHIELD actor, has testified before Congress in the past regarding AI likeness and the way it’s related to the ongoing actors’ strike. Since a lot of modeling and personal information is available to the public now, it looks like it’s a serious problem for SAG-AFTRA that should be taken care of in the future. In an interview with The Wrap earlier this year, Gregg said:
"To have fundamental things like your likeness — when you do a, let's just say a genre movie, maybe in a superhero universe, there are intense scans done of you all over. And you know, at some point, they're probably going to be able to replicate you. That needs to be with your permission, your consent, your involvement. You know, we're not just information to be fed into a computer. That's not what humanity is for. And I think I feel like we're kind of fighting to keep the soul in the art form.”
Congress Makes a Move Against AI
Congress has also joined the move against AI with its legislation to ban all unauthorized AI likenesses of celebrities. The "No Fakes Act," also called the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act, was added recently by a bipartisan coalition of Congress. The senators behind this act are Amy Klobuchar, Chris Coons, Thor Tillis, and Marsha Blackburn.
The purpose of the "No Fakes Act" is to enable IP protection against the misuse of likeness performances of voice in sound recordings and audiovisual projects. The SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher also appreciated this move in a statement, saying, "A performer's voice and their appearance are all part of their unique essence, and it's not ok when those are used without their permission. Consent is key."
