Actors Who Sold AI Avatars Stuck In Black Mirror-Esque Dystopia

Some actors who sold their likenesses to AI video companies like Synthesia now regret the decision, after finding their digital avatars used in misleading, embarrassing, or politically charged content. Ars Technica reports: Among them is a 29-year-old New York-based actor, Adam Coy, who licensed rights to his face and voice to a company called MCM for one year for $1,000 without thinking, 'am I crossing a line by doing this?' His partner's mother later found videos where he appeared as a doomsayer predicting disasters, he told the AFP. South Korean actor Simon Lee's AI likeness was similarly used to spook naive Internet users but in a potentially more harmful way. He told the AFP that he was 'stunned' to find his AI avatar promoting 'questionable health cures on TikTok and Instagram,' feeling ashamed to have his face linked to obvious scams.

Even a company publicly committed to ethically developing AI avatars and preventing their use in harmful content like Synthesia can't guarantee that its content moderation will catch everything. A British actor, Connor Yeates, told the AFP that his video was 'used to promote Ibrahim Traore, the president of Burkina Faso who took power in a coup in 2022' in violation of Synthesia's terms. Yeates was paid about $5,000 for a three-year contract with Synthesia that he signed simply because he doesn't 'have rich parents and needed the money.' But he likely couldn't have foreseen his face being used for propaganda, as even Synthesia didn't anticipate that outcome.

Others may not like their AI avatar videos but consider the financial reward high enough to make up for the sting. Coy confirmed that money motivated his decision, and while he found it 'surreal' to be depicted as a con artist selling a dystopian future, that didn't stop him from concluding that 'it's decent money for little work.' Potentially improving the climate for actors, Synthesia is forming a talent program that it claims will give actors a voice in decision-making about AI avatars. 'By involving actors in decision-making processes, we aim to create a culture of mutual respect and continuous improvement,' Synthesia's blog said.

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