The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has urged for the prohibition of deepfakes following their recent use to create explicit images of Taylor Swift and a comedy special starring the late George Carlin.
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The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is a labor union in the United States that came into existence in 2012 through the merger of SAG and AFTRA. With a global membership of around 160,000 media professionals, SAG-AFTRA holds a significant presence in the industry. Furthermore, it is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States.
In a statement released on Friday, SAG-AFTRA expressed their distress and grave concerns over the sexually explicit artificial intelligence-generated images featuring Taylor Swift. They emphasized the necessity of enacting legislation that criminalizes the creation and distribution of fabricated images, particularly those of a vulgar nature, without the consent of the individuals involved.
In response to the sexually-explicit deepfakes of Taylor Swift that went viral on X, accumulating over 27 million views and more than 260,000 likes within 19 hours before the account responsible was suspended, a statement has been issued.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella strongly condemned the images as "alarming and terrible," emphasizing the urgent need for the company to take swift action against AI-generated nude pictures.
Furthermore, earlier this month, artificial intelligence was utilized to revive the late stand-up comedian George Carlin through an AI-generated special. Carlin's daughter expressed her strong disapproval, referring to it as a "rape & pillage" of her father's art. Consequently, this led to a lawsuit being filed by Carlin's estate this week.
The hour-long special, titled "George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead," showcases a voice and demeanor that closely resembles the late comedian's. It was recently uploaded to YouTube by the Dudesy channel. Carlin passed away in 2008 due to heart failure.
The lawsuit claims copyright infringement and a violation of the late comedian's right to publicity.
SAG-AFTRA expressed their stance by saying that, Families should not have to witness their loved ones being exploited for financial gain.
SAG-AFTRA added that, we stand by the Carlin family, who are taking legal action against those who are using the comedian's work without obtaining consent or providing compensation.
The SAG-AFTRA and Writer's Guild of America strikes raised concerns about the potential misuse of AI technology. Both contract agreements included measures like informed consent to address this issue, but actors and writers have expressed their disappointment with these safeguards.
In their recent statement, SAG-AFTRA emphasized the need for stronger legal protections against AI. They expressed their support for U.S. Rep. Joe Morelle's Preventing Deepfakes of Intimate Images Act, stating that it is crucial to prevent such exploitations from happening again.
As a society, we have the ability to regulate these technologies, but it is imperative that we take action now before it becomes too late, according to SAG-AFTRA.
