From deepfakes to 'fixing' women – sinister ways AI has burnt celebs

Celebrities have long spoken out against the frightening potential of Artificial Intelligence, and it seems like every day another unsettling story emerges.

Last week, Katy Perry, Billie Eilish and Stevie Wonder were among over 200 names from the music industry who signed an open letter warning about the threats AI poses to artistry.

Submitted by Artist Rights Alliance non-profit, the letter said: ‘We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists’ voices and likenesses, violate creators’ rights, and destroy the music ecosystem.’

Likewise, much of Hollywood was on strike last year, with many stars worrying about generative AI taking roles away from actors and writers.

The fear was over both digital replicas; which can reproduce a performer’s voice or likeness; and synthetic performers, which are entirely generated by AI to use instead of a filmed human.

Indeed, AI expert Solomon Rogers told Metro.co.uk that presenters such as Tess Daly, Holly Willoughby, Davina McCall and Josie Gibson, will soon become ‘obsolete’ and that the process to replace them with robots has already begun.

He pointed out that in South Korea, a digital human called ‘Zaein’ is already doing just this. Creepy.

But while many actors, TV stars and musicians have publicly expressed concern about AI robots taking their future jobs, there are other – and perhaps even more worrying – ways this new technology is impacting celebrities.

Deepfake pornography ‘violation’

Deepfake pornography is nothing new, but it’s becoming more of a problem.

While there is little legal regulation in place and creating AI becomes increasingly accessible and convincing, many celebrities across the globe are being exploited by the rapidly-advancing technology.

Deepfake porn is where one person’s face is placed on another person’s body to create fake porn photos or video, and those faces are often celebrities.

Last month, it was revealed that over 250 British celebrities are among thousands who have been victim to deepfake porn.

One of these was Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman, who said: ‘It feels like a violation. It just feels really sinister that someone out there who’s put this together, I can’t see them, and they can see this kind of imaginary version of me, this fake version of me.’

Taylor Swift performs at Accor Stadium on February 23, 2024 in Sydney, Australia — Swift is a major target for AI scammers and deepfake videos (Picture: Getty Images)

For Taylor, this meant transforming into some sort of 19th century pilgrim woman, with a dress buttoned up past her neck and her hair wrapped up in a blue bonnet. Please, no.

Miley Cyrus takes to the red carpet — Miley Cyrus was targeted by @dignifAI after wearing this dress **(Picture: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)**

The report, by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), did not reveal the names of the celebrities, but said targets were largely female film stars and singers.

The charity also found evidence on one dark web forum of users manipulating images of child actors to make them sexual.

Deepfake adverts

Many celebrities couldn’t believe it when they were contacted by fans about their appearance on adverts for seedy businesses – which actually turned out to be deepfakes; artificial, digitally created videos of them promoting products, which often end up being scams.

Taylor Swift’s likeness was used to flog what looked to be Le Creuset cookware in an advert, which turned out to be a deepfake, and ultimately, was reported to be a scam.

The high-end kitchen brand Le Creuset had nothing to do with the advert, and when users clicked through they were asked – after being told they would be getting the items for free – to pay a shipping fee, after which their card details would be charged a recurring fee.

Tom Hanks meanwhile, was seemingly flogging a dental plan, before he took to social media and informed fans this was an AI deepfake and most definitely not him.