She is one of the first, but she certainly won’t be the last. Scarlett Johansson has taken legal action against an AI app and its parent company for illegally using her name and likeness to promote it.
According to Variety, an artificial intelligence image generation app called Lisa AI: 90s Yearbook & Avatar released a 22-second ad featuring Johansson on October 28 for the app. They also confirmed that their lawyer Kevin Yorn was forced to resolve the situation through court. Since then, the advertisement appears to have been completely deleted from the internet as no trace of it appears to remain.
Variety reviewed the ad before it was removed from the World Wide Web and claimed it began with an old video of Johansson behind the scenes of Marvel’s Black Widow, in which she invites the audience to join her at a special location. “What’s going on guys?” she says in the original clip. “It’s Scarlett and I want you to come with me to the premiere of Black Widow.”
However, in the promotional version, before the “premiere” portion, a graphic covers her mouth and the screen fades into AI-generated photos that attempt to capture the actress’ likeness. “It’s not just limited to avatars,” a fake imitation of Johansson’s voice tells the viewer in the ad. “You can also create images with text and even your AI videos. I think it’s something you shouldn’t miss.”
Interestingly, the small print in the ad states: “Images produced by Lisa AI. It has nothing to do with this person.” Lisa AI apps are created by Convert Software and several of the company’s applications are still available for download in the Apple and Google Play stores at the time of publication.
“We do not take these things lightly,” Yorn said in a statement to Variety. “In line with our usual approach in these circumstances, we will take action using all legal means available to us.”
According to Variety, California is known for its privacy laws and rights, including prohibiting the “unauthorized use of a person’s name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness” for the purposes of advertising or promotion. It’s clear that such cases are litigated to set a precedent – as they should, according to ScarJo – but often cases involving the misuse of a famous person’s likeness are settled through cease-and-desist orders. It’s great to see her go the extra mile because we need all hands on deck to curb the uncontrolled growth and overreach of AI.
This is the second time recently that a celebrity has made headlines for the unlawful use of their name and likeness by AI. In October, Tom Hanks reported on an ad for a dental plan that featured an AI version of the well-known artist. On his Instagram Stories, Hanks warned fans: “Be careful! I have nothing to do with it.” Back in September, Game of Thrones author George RR Martin – along with seventeen other authors – sued OpenAI for copyright infringement. Now is the time to resist, people.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.