Samuel L. Jackson Won’t Let His AI Likeness Be Used ‘Forever’: ‘I’m Gonna Scrap That Shit’ From Contracts
Samuel L. Jackson knows his legacy will last forever, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he wants his image used “forever.”
The iconic movie star, who recently appeared in the Disney+ Marvel series ‘Secret Invasion,’ revealed his apprehension about the use of artificial intelligence in Hollywood in a recent interview with Rolling stone.
“Are people just starting to worry about this? I asked that a long time ago,” Jackson said as he discussed being “scanned,” a common practice for Marvel actors. “The first time I got scanned for George Lucas, I was like, ‘What’s this for?’”
Jackson continued, “George and I are good friends, so we had a laugh because I thought he was doing it because he had all those old boys in ‘Episode I,’ and if anything happened to them, he still wanted to put them in the movie.
The “Avengers” star noted that the MCU has also followed suit when it comes to protecting the brand.
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“Ever since I’ve been in the Marvel Universe, every time you change costumes in a Marvel movie, they scan you,” Jackson said. “Ever since I did ‘Captain Marvel’ and they did the Lola project where they de-aged me and everything, it’s been like, ‘Well, I guess they can do it anytime they want to if they really want to. ‘”
Yet Jackson admitted that AI “might be something to worry about” for actors, saying, “Future actors should do what I always do when I get a contract, and it has the words ‘in perpetuity’ and ‘known and unknown’ on it: Erase that shit. It’s my way of saying, ‘No, I don’t approve of that.’”
Tom Hanks also recently shared his thoughts on aging and AI technology as a way to keep actors in movies alive forever.
“I can tell you that there (are) discussions going on in all corporations, all agencies and all law firms to find the legal consequences of my face and voice – and everyone else’s – being our intellectual property,” Hanks said.
The Oscar winner continued, “What’s a bona fide chance right now, if I wanted to, I could come together and pitch a seven-film series that would star me in them where I’d be 32 years old from now until reign.” . Anyone can now recreate themselves at any age, through artificial intelligence or deep fake technology… I could just get hit by a bus tomorrow, but my performances can go on and on. Outside of an understanding that it was done by AI or a deep fake, there will be nothing to tell you it’s not me and only me, and it will have some degree of realistic quality to it.