Tom Hanks Claims A Dental Plan Commercial Used An AI Likeness Of Him

Tom Hanks

Image Source: USA Today

The power of artificial intelligence (AI) has been scrutinized by many throughout society, especially during the Writers Guild of America strike. A-list actor Tom Hanks might have joined their ranks as the actor claims an artificial likeness of himself was used in a dental commercial. 

Hanks took a picture of the portrayal to his Instagram, writing on the post, “BEWARE!! There’s a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me. I have nothing to do with it.”

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Tom Hanks

Image Source: Daily Motion

CNN, who initiated a report on this event, could not verify the source of the AI image, and Hanks’ representatives were unavailable for comment. Many throughout Hollywood are considering the ramifications of the technology within their industry, and Hanks spoke to The Adam Buxton Podcast about what he considers potential consequences. 

“Anybody can now recreate themselves at any age they are by way of AI or deep fake technology…I could be hit by a bus tomorrow, and that’s it, but my performances can go on and on and on,” Hanks said. As to whether the mass movie-going audience would be generally affected by an AI-generated Tom Hanks ‘performance’ in a film, Hanks said, “Without a doubt, people will be able to tell, but the question is, will they care? There are some people that won’t care, that won’t make that delineation.”

Hindsight being what it is, Tom Hanks claimed to have had his hesitation about the technology for years, saying, “The first time we did a movie that had a huge amount of our own data locked in a computer – literally what we looked like – was a movie called The Polar Express. We saw this coming, we saw that there was going to be this ability in order to take zeros and ones inside a computer and turn it into a face and a character. Now, that has only grown a billionfold since then and we see it everywhere.”

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