Scarlett Johansson has officially taken legal action after an artificial intelligence app called Lisa AI: 90s Yearbook & Avatar used the actress’ face and voice in an advertisement.
According to Variety, the 22-second clip, which has since been deleted from the internet, first appeared on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday using an old clip of Johansson, 38, during a behind-the-scenes look at her Marvel film Black Widow.
“What’s up, guys? It’s Scarlett and I want you to come with me,” the Avengers star says before the clip transitions to a group of AI-generated pictures that resemble the star.
Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson’s likeness was used in the ad for the AI app. Picture: Marvel Studios
“It’s not limited to avatars only,” a voiceover continues, sounding very similar to Johansson. “You can also create images with texts and even your AI videos. I think you shouldn’t miss it.”
According to the outlet, the advertisement also features a disclaimer that states the ad features “images produced by Lisa AI. It has nothing to do with this person.”
In a statement to Variety, Johansson’s reps have confirmed that the Asteroid City star is not a spokesperson for the app.
Johansson’s lawyer, Kevin Yorn, told the outlet “we do not take these things lightly. Per our usual course of action in these circumstances, we will deal with it with all legal remedies that we will have.”
Johansson’s lawyer said “we do not take these things lightly”. Picture: Theo Wargo/Getty Images
The star is not the only celebrity to have fallen victim to AI.
In early October, Tom Hanks warned fans via Instagram of a promotional video, for a dental plan, that featured his likeness.
“Beware!!” Hanks, 67, wrote beneath a pH๏τo of his lookalike. “There’s a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me.
“I have nothing to do with it,” the Forrest Gump star added.
The use of AI and digital recreation is also a major rallying point for those actors participating in the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Members of the Writers Guild of America, whose five-month strike ended in September, also sought to ban the use of AI for writing or rewriting source material.
On Monday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that would regulate the development of artificial intelligence.
According to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed, the legislature comes after Biden, 80, watched the Tom Cruise-led Mission: Impossible – ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning Part One.
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“If [Biden] hadn’t already been concerned about what could go wrong with AI before that movie, he saw plenty more to worry about,” Reed said.
According to Reed, Biden’s newly aggressive stance also comes after the president witnessed the technology create “fake AI images of himself [and] of his dog,” along with a demonstration of “the incredible and terrifying technology of voice cloning.”
