An actor who has appeared in Prometheus, Dark Crystal and Bleachers has warned against signing AI avatar contracts after his face was used to peddle a misleading Venezuela propaganda campaign.
Dan Dewhirst released a statement via UK actors union Equity about his experience in order to warn others.
Dewhirst said he signed a contract in 2021 with tech company Synthesia to become one of the first actors whose likeness would be made into an AI avatar. He auditioned for the avatar part and got it but became suspicious about the wide-ranging clauses in the contract, so he contacted his agent and Equity. Concerns were echoed and Dewhirst said he and his lawyers tried to get the contract changed yet failed, but he was showed the booking confirmation which included stipulations that the avatar can’t be used for illegal or unsavoury purposes, he said.
However, two years later he was sent a link to a fake CNN report that he said showed him posing as a TV news anchor spreading fake news pushed by the government of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro. His avatar tells viewers that the economy is doing well, among a string of other inaccurate and contested narratives, he said.
“I couldn’t believe it” said Dewhirst. “My stomach dropped. Everything I was worried about has happened but a thousand times worse. I’m literally the face of fake news.”
A spokesperson for Synthesia told a Guardian investigation that it had banned the accounts that created the videos in 2023, strengthened its content review processes and “hired more content moderators.” “Many of the actors we work with re-engage with us for new shoots … At the start of our collaboration, we explain our terms of service to them and how our technology works so they are aware of what the platform can do and the safeguards we have in place,” it added. We have contacted Synthesia for further comment.
Dewhirst is coming forwards in order to warn others against signing AI avatar contracts in the future and other actors who had similar experiences spoke with The Guardian.
Equity has been pushing for AI Safeguards in a similar vein to its American union counterparts and has made AI a cornerstone of its negotiations with producer trade body Pact.
John Barclay, Equity assistant secretary, said: “AI isn’t the future, it’s the present. It’s here right now and performance artists are increasingly working in this growth area, providing movement and voice recordings for Gen AI content. Engagers of our members are slow to respond to the threat not only to our members’ rights, but also their own Intellectual Property and this must change.”