No, that’s not Tom Hanks telling you to get your teeth fixed.
The Hollywood actor says an AI version of him is being used without his consent in an online advert for a dental plan.
Hanks shared an image of the computer-generated lookalike on Instagram with the following warning for his fans: “There’s a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me. I have nothing to do with it.”
Hanks is the latest celeb to have his likeness recreated using readily available AI tools.
As the Standard recently reported, grifters have previously created fake pictures of Arsenal legend Ian Wright, celebrity chef Gino D’Acampo, and adventurer Bear Grylls to peddle get-rich-quick schemes on social media.
However, there are usually a few telltale signs that can help people spot fake AI images. These include an unreal, and somewhat uncanny, quality to the pics. Sometimes, the subject may have a stray arm or leg, although AI-image generators are increasingly overcoming their flaws to produce more convincing dupes.
In the case of Hanks, the 67-year-old Forrest Gump star looks visibly younger in the fake pic.
Although de-aging technology is all the rage in Hollywood, it isn’t typically used in adverts. However, Hanks himself is about to appear as a youthful version of himself in an upcoming movie “Here”. The actor was apparently de-aged using cutting-edge AI developed by tech firm Metaphysic, which is best known for its viral deep fakes of Tom Cruise and Simon Cowell.
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♬ original sound - Metaphysic.ai
The use of AI in filmmaking was a central issue that prompted the Hollywood strike that shut down shoots and caused multiple blockbusters to be delayed.
While writers recently struck a deal with studios allowing them to use their work to train AI models, the actors’ strike is still ongoing.
