Congress Introduces "No Fakes Act" to Ban Unauthorized AI Likenesses of Celebrities

Congress rolls out the "No Fakes Act" to curb unauthorized AI likenesses.

By Aaron Perine

Congress has introduced a piece of legislation to ban unauthorized AI likenesses of celebrities. The "No Fakes Act", also known as the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act, got introduced by a bipartisan coalition of congress. Senators Chris Coons, Marsha Blackburn, Amy Klobuchar, and Thor Tillis are sponsors of the bill. This act would allow IP protections against misappropriation of voice and likeness performances in sound recordings and audiovisual works. SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher applauded the move. She said, "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."

Coons offered, "Creators around the nation are calling on Congress to lay out clear policies regulating the use and impact of generative AI and Congress must strike the right balance to defend individual rights, abide by the First Amendment, and foster AI innovation and creativity."

Other voices within SAG-AFTRA like Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland also offered praise, "The explosion in popularity and capability of generative artificial intelligence has flooded the internet with AI-created songs, videos band voice recordings which exploit the voices and likenesses of our members without consent or compensation. For our members, their voice and likeness is their livelihood. They spend a lifetime improving their talent and building their value. It is outrageous to think someone can undermine that value with a few prompts and clicks on a keyboard."

AI Deepfake Scams Become More Common

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AI likeness theft has been on the rise in recent years. Deepfakes began as a sort of VFX parlor trick in the last decade. However, with the accessibility of AI-assisted technology and general tutorials, these images have never been easier to produce. Tom Hanks recently found himself becoming the face of a scam for a dental service. His face became the backdrop for this stunt. The actor had to warn his fans not to fall for it on Instagram, which increased attention to these situations among general audiences. On social media, Hanks wrote, "BEWARE!! There's a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me. I have nothing to do with it. – Tom Hanks"

In recent years, Hanks has been a vocal critic of the entire practice because he could see things spiraling out of control pretty easily. His representation at CAA has been working on reining some of it in with a company called Metaphysic. They work to establish some guidelines for AI likenesses. Metaphysic also partnered with Annie Hathaway and Octavia Spencer to help hash some of this legal difficulty. Technology has made all of this more complicated than anyone thought in just a few short years. 

AI Performances Remain Hotly Contested

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During an appearance on The Adam Buxton Podcast, Hanks would go on to describe a future where he would be acting long after his death. AI is the next and current battlefield for entertainment. "What is a bona fide possibility right now, if I wanted to, [is] I could get together and pitch a series of seven movies that would star me in them in which I would be 32 years old from now until kingdom come," Hanks explained to the host. "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."

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Hanks continued, "Outside of the understanding that it's been done by AI or deep fake, there'll be nothing to tell you that it's not me and me alone and it's going to have some degree of lifelike quality… I can tell you that there [are] discussions going on in all of the guilds, all of the agencies, and all of the legal firms in order to come up with the legal ramifications of my face and my voice and everybody else's being our intellectual property."

Do you think this will curb deepfakes? Let us know down in the comments!

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