Sam Altman shop lifting in a gas station. Josh Allen singing in the street. Ronaldo and Messi kissing. The internet is filled with funny, weird and outright bizarre AI videos of celebrities, something only set to increase with the release of Chat GPT’s Sora 2.
“[Sora 2] is a new AI video generation model that offers support for hyper-realistic visuals, speech, sound effects, and better physics,” Yahoo Tech said. “These features allow users to create incredible video clips with just a single text or image prompt.”
Despite being less than a month old, the AI generator has already begun to be used to troll celebrities, immediately attracting the ire of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, who are now seeing their faces pop up all over the internet in ridiculous and even demeaning videos.
“We must call out the misuse of AI, no matter its messaging, or we risk losing a hold on reality” Actor Scarlett Johansson said. Johansson has been the victim of multiple AI scandals, and still continues to be the target of huge amounts of content. Despite her frustration, however, there is very little she can do to have the videos taken down or prevent new media from being created in her likeness.
For many celebrities, the videos are annoying or weird, but never anything for than a minor inconvenience. For some, however, the constant bombardment of AI content can take a serious toll. Take for example Zelda Williams, who has been harassed continuously by people sending her videos of her late father Robin Williams.
“Stop believing I wanna see it or that I’ll understand, I don’t and I won’t. If you’re just trying to troll me, I’ve seen way worse, I’ll restrict and move on.” Williams said.
For people still recovering from the loss of a loved one, an AI video in their visage might be the last thing they want to see, especially as hyper-realistic videos could delude their memories of the person they lost, or even worse, increase delusion about the person still being alive. Despite any good intentions the people generating the videos may have, for Williams, AI generated content of her late father only serves to bring up painful memories and remind her of his passing.
Not everyone hates AI, however. Although most celebrities try to distance themselves from the content generated in their image, some of the more opportunistic stars are loving the attention. Jake Paul is known for doing anything to get noticed, so when users on Sora 2 started creating videos of him using makeup, dyeing his hair, and wearing skirts, he was more than happy to encourage the content. In fact, in a video posted on TikTok he even officially endorsed the “zesty” AI Jake Paul, clearly enjoying the publicity.
For some celebrities, AI must be stopped. It steals their likeness, leaches off of their fame, hurts their image and alters public perception. For others, however, its a useful tool, helping increase popularity and boost their chances of being noticed: even if it involves them being depicted wearing skirts.
