Tom Hanks says some people 'won't care' if an AI version of him continues acting after death

Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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The future of artificial intelligence is a looming topic across all industries, including Hollywood.

Tom Hanks discussed the possibility of an AI version of him continuing to act after his death and the morality of that on the Friday episode of "The Adam Buxton" podcast.

"Anybody can now recreate themselves at any age they are by way of AI or deep fake technology," said the Oscar-winning actor, 66. "I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it, but my performances can go on and on and on."

Hanks elaborated that aside from a project labeling a posthumous movie with him as AI, "there’ll be nothing to tell you that it’s not me and me alone and it’s going to have some degree of lifelike quality."

He added: "That's certainly an artistic challenge, but also a legal one."

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Podcast host Adam Buxton insisted that audiences would be able to tell the difference, especially in some stylistic choices that Hanks makes that AI would not pick up.

"Without a doubt people will be able to tell, but the question is, will they care?" Hanks responded. "There are some people that won’t care, that won’t make that delineation."

The morality of AI in the entertainment industry is sparking "discussions going on in all of the guilds, all of the agencies, and all of the legal firms in order to come up with the legal ramifications of my face and my voice and everybody else’s being our intellectual property," the actor added.

Tom Hanks discussed the affect AI could have on his career after his death.
Tom Hanks discussed the affect AI could have on his career after his death.

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Although the technology is seemingly here overnight, Hanks referred to his 2004 movie "The Polar Express" as a predecessor version of artificial intelligence to generate his likeness and voice in animation by plugging "a huge amount of our own data in a computer."

"We saw this coming, we saw that there was going to be this ability in order to take zeros and ones inside a computer and turn it into a face and a character," the "Elvis" actor said. "That has only grown a billionfold since then and we see it everywhere."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tom Hanks talks possibility of an AI version of him acting after death