Brian Cox, speaking to Sky News amid the ongoing US actors’ strike, gave his two cents on the gravity of artificial intelligence’s role in creating deepfakes, labelling it as a serious issue. The acclaimed actor, renowned for his role as Logan Roy in Succession, attended the premiere of the James Bond-themed quiz show “007: Road To A Million” where he addressed these concerns. He described the replication of actors’ likenesses through AI as a form of “identity theft” and classified it as “a human rights issue.”
“It doesn’t keep me up at night, but I am concerned about it and I want it to be sorted,” he told Sky News in an interview. “I think AI is a human rights issue. It’s not just a union issue. It’s actually an identity theft. And it’s very, very prevalent at the moment.”
Cox expressed particular concern for the vulnerability of young actors, whom he believes are more susceptible to exploitation by disreputable producers.
“The younger actors are put in a situation where they’re told they have to do this and they don’t, but they don’t know that at the time,” he said, before adding: “It’s been pretty horrendous. And then the deal, you know, we give you $50 or £50 to have you in perpetuity well, basically, I’d have told them to f*** off.”
Cox expressed particular worry for the younger generation of actors, whom he believes are at greater risk of being taken advantage of by unethical producers in the industry. The rise of generative AI has threatened performers’ careers by duplicating their facial expressions, movements, and voices with disturbing precision.
Scarlett Johansson was mentioned as the most recent high-profile figure to encounter an unauthorized use of her image in a deepfake advertisement, a plight previously shared by fellow celebrities Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, and Stephen Fry, who have also been featured in widely circulated unauthorized deepfakes.
Featured image: Credit: Sky News
