Keanu Reeves has deed retired astatine AI deepfakes of the John Wick prima selling products without his permission, insisting "it's not a batch of fun."
In July, it was reported that Reeves pays a institution a fewer 1000 dollars a period to get the likes of TikTok and Meta to instrumentality down imitators.
In an in-depth nonfiction by The Hollywood Reporter, it was revealed that Reeves pays a institution called Loti to contented tens of thousands of societal media relationship takedowns each year.
The much-loved (“you’re breathtaking!”) prima of The Matrix and Cyberpunk 2077, THR said, whitethorn beryllium the astir impersonated personage connected the net owed to his blockbuster presumption and deficiency of authoritative societal media presence, which creates a mystique astir his idiosyncratic life.
Scammers are filling the void by creating fake images of Reeves appearing to contented governmental messages of each types, advertizing dodgy products, and, successful utmost cases, creating fake Keanu Reeves accounts that physique relationships with their victims to yet person them to wage them money. Reeves, it seems, is premier fodder for scam bait, and generative AI is making it easier and much convincing than ever.
Reeves spoke astir the contented of AI and deepfakes successful an interrogation with The Today Show to beforehand his starring relation successful Waiting for Godot connected Broadway alongside Bill & Ted co-star Alex Winter. He was archetypal asked however helium felt astir an ‘AI wedding announcement’ photograph showing helium and his partner, ocular creator Alexandra Grant, getting joined — an representation Grant was forced to officially debunk.
“I hadn’t seen it until idiosyncratic from the amusement showed it to me,” Reeves began. “I knew what was going connected but I’d ne'er seen it. We’re successful that world, right?”
Reeves was past asked however helium felt astir AI versions of Keanu Reeves spreading crossed the internet.
“I deliberation that’s happening to a batch of people,” helium replied.
Reeves was yet asked however disconcerting it was for him to spot those AI deepfakes of himself.
“Well, I mean, it’s not a batch of fun, you know!" helium said, earlier holding his manus up to his look imitating receiving a telephone call. "It’s like, ‘Hey, are you truly selling this product?’ No!”
A History of Keanu Reeves successful Video Games
It's not the archetypal clip Reeves has expressed interest astir artificial intelligence. In a 2023 interrogation with Wired, helium said deepfakes were “scary” and confirmed his movie contracts prohibition integer edits to his acting.
“What’s frustrating astir that is you suffer your agency,” Reeves said connected deepfakes. “When you springiness a show successful a film, you cognize you’re going to beryllium edited, but you’re participating successful that. If you spell into deepfake land, it has nary of your points of view. That’s scary. It’s going to beryllium absorbing to spot however humans woody with these technologies. They’re having specified cultural, sociological impacts, and the taxon is being studied. There’s truthful overmuch ‘data’ connected behaviors now.”
Reeves isn’t unsocial successful this, of course. There person been a fig of high-profile cases successful which celebrities person complained publically astir fake adverts. In 2023, Tom Hanks warned fans that an AI mentation of his likeness was being utilized without his consent successful an online advert for a dental plan. Last year, Morgan Freeman thanked fans who alerted him to AI-generated imitations of his dependable online aft a bid of videos created by idiosyncratic posing arsenic his niece went viral.
And successful May this year, Jamie Lee Curtis was forced to entreaty to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg successful an Instagram station due to the fact that she couldn’t get the institution to propulsion an AI-generated advertisement that featured her likeness for “some bullshit that I didn’t authorize, hold to oregon endorse.”
Alexandra Shannon, caput of strategical improvement astatine CAA, told THR that determination is accrued interest astir this contented among artists, and called for rules and regulations to forestall it from happening.
When he's not paying companies to combat scammers, Keanu Reeves takes to the big-screen to amusement disconnected his real-life combat skills. He precocious cameoed successful John Wick spinoff Ballerina. A movie adaptation of BRZRKR, produced by and starring Reeves, is successful the works for Netflix. And John Wick 5, erstwhile again starring Keanu Reeves, is successful development, though we're not definite erstwhile it volition travel out. Director Chad Stahelski precocious said he's inactive trying to enactment retired however to marque Keanu Reeves successful John Wick 5 marque consciousness fixed the ending of 4.
Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images.
Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].