Agents of SHIELD Star Clark Gregg Testified Before Congress About AI

SAG-AFTRA officially went on strike in July, and studios recently suspended talks with the union, which will likely extend the process. Many stars have been seen on the picket lines, and some actors have been especially vocal about why they're striking. While there are many reasons actors are on strike, one big topic has been the use of AI. Clark Gregg, the actor best known for playing Phil Coulson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Agents of SHIELD, previously addressed his concerns about AI while on the picket lines. This week, the actor testified in front of Congress as they consider the No Fakes Act. According to Delaware Senator Chris Coons, the act is "a bipartisan proposal that would protect the voice and visual likeness of all individuals from unauthorized recreations from generative artificial intelligence."

"Actors, like anyone else, deserve to have their biometric information protected from unauthorized access and use," Gregg explained during his statement to Congress. Gregg went on to say that unauthorized AI is not only an invasion of privacy but can affect actors' jobs. He also revealed he recently saw an AI version of himself in pornography. "I was recently sent very lifelike images of myself engaged in acrobatic pornography with, I will admit, abs that I would kill for. It's funny but it's also terrifying." You can watch a video shared by fan account Clark Gregg University on Twitter below:

Earlier today, @clarkgregg spoke before Congress about the dangers of A.I. The NO FAKES Act will protect performers from faked voice and likeness performances in AV works and sound recordings. #ClarkGregg #Sagaftra #Sagaftrastrong #takeastand #actor #protectartists pic.twitter.com/0XIq77Ymi2

— Clark Gregg University (@ClarkGreggU) October 19, 2023

Both SAG-AFTRA and Gregg shared images from his visit to Congress, which you can view in the tweets below:

Today, #SagAftraMember @clarkgregg testified before Congress on the harms posed by AI. The NO FAKES Act will protect performers from faked voice and likeness performances in AV works and sound recordings. Thank you, @RepJoeMorelle, for joining us in this fight! #SagAftraStrong pic.twitter.com/DInQMH8IZc

— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) October 18, 2023

Honor to meet you, congressman. Thanks for your efforts on data and AI privacy & security for actors, writers and everyone else. https://t.co/yqXwBvuZX0

— Clark Gregg (@clarkgregg) October 18, 2023

"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," Gregg previously explained to The Wrap. "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." he added.

SAG-AFTRA held a press conference ahead of the strike in which President Fran Drescher and National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland detailed the reasons the union had chosen to strike and AMPTP's background actor proposal. 

"This 'groundbreaking' AI proposal that they gave us yesterday: they propose that our background performers should be able to be scanned, get paid for one day's pay, and their company should own that scan their image, their likeness and should be able to use it for the rest of eternity in any project they want with no consent and no compensation," Crabtree-Ireland revealed. "So if you think that's a groundbreaking proposal, I suggest you think again."

Stay tuned for more updates about the SAG strike.