‘We’re living a Black Mirror episode’: Woman says company used AI to steal her likeness to create a deepfake ad
The rise of artificial intelligence's ability to create convincing deepfake videos may have just inadvertently helped human beings become more human again. An example of a TikToker who had her likeness allegedly stolen by AI may contain proof of that.
Michel Janse (@michel.c.janse) speculated that the internet is changing "fast" and that it'll probably never be the same as folks have no choice but to question every single video or image they see online.
That's because she discovered that a company allegedly ripped footage from a social media post where she shared "vulnerable" commentary on her life. She says they then fed that footage into their AI software to commandeer her license and attach it to a different voice and was left feeling very concerned. Not just at the stunning accuracy with which this seemingly living, breathing, talking, and moving facsimile resembled her, but at how the web will probably never be the same.
She says it happend while she was on her honeymoon, sharing, "So AI stole my likeness and created a deepfake ad of me promoting erectile dysfunction pills."
She describes the video, saying, "So this ad was me, in my bedroom, in my old apartment [in] Austin wearing my clothes talking about their pill."
Janse claims the only difference in the likeness was her voice before showing a snippet of the clip from her computer.
@michel.c.janse storytime: AI stole my likeness and created a deepfake of me ✌???????? believe nothing ????
♬ original sound - Michel Janse
"I actually think it's super important to talk about because we are now entering this era of living our lives online to where we need to question everything we see," she says. "Someone that you know could be in a video saying something to you, looks exactly like them and it could be completely fabricated."
She plays the advertisement on her computer, and the AI-generated woman in the video is a dead ringer for Janse. She talks about her partner who has "difficulty" maintaining an erection—the TikToker only plays it for a few seconds before ultimately cutting back to herself talking on camera.
"I honestly don't know how we as a society can be like more discerning as to being able to tell what is real and what is fake," she says. "'Cause it's gonna continue to get more and more realistic and accurate every time."
The points that Janse brings up in her clip are pertinent, not just when it comes to the theft of likenesses and the rights implication usages of that, which is a sticking point for the Screen Actors Guild in its negotiations, but also the implications of internet usage as a whole.
Influencers who are living their best lives and traveling to the hottest tourist destinations—all of their posts will be called into question. As a result, it's not difficult to imagine that people that face to face human interactions might become a necessity where in the recent past, they could be taken over by communication via the web.
Numerous viewers had varying opinions. Some seemed to look on the bright side of things.
One person believes they found the perfect scapegoat in AI, writing, "When I say and do embarrassing things I’m just gonna say it was an AI deepfake."
Others remarked that they thought if Janse decided to sue the company that stole her likeness, she could set a legal precedent for AI commandeering of people's likenesses.
"WOWWWW you have to sue," one said. "Your case could set law."
Another replied, "I know everyone’s saying sue but I really hope a lawyer is willing to take your case pro bono bc this could rightly change the course of history."
"Get a lawyer, set a precedent that establishes protections for everyone else in the future," another echoed. "I’m terribly sorry this happened to you."
The Daily Dot has reached out to Janse via email for further comment.
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