Scarlett Johansson faces artificial intelligence

The face of world-renowned actress Scarlett Johansson was used without her consent in an advertisement for an artificial intelligence product.

Having previously encountered problems with AI and “deepfake” technology, Johansson has decided to take legal action, though she harbors doubts about the efficacy of such measures.

A 22-second advertisement released by the artificial intelligence (AI) app named “Lisa AI: 90’s Yearbook & Avatar” featured a fake image and dialogue created using Johansson’s actual footage.

Scarlett Johansson and her lawyers have initiated legal proceedings. Her attorney, Kevin Yorn, made a statement, asserting that they “cannot take such an incident lightly.”

The advertisement has been removed from circulation.

The now-removed video ad begins with behind-the-scenes footage from Johansson’s “Black Widow” movie set, and in the AI-generated image, Johansson is depicted saying:

“Hey kids! I’m Scarlett, and I want you to come with me!”

The screen then transitions to photographs created by the AI that resemble her. A voice imitating the actor continues to speak, promoting the app: “It’s not just limited to avatars. You can also create images with text and even your own AI videos. I think you shouldn’t miss out on this.”

Text scrolling underneath the ad states: “These images are generated by Lisa AI. There is no affiliation with the actual person.”

Johansson is not the only actor to speak out publicly against the use of their name and likeness for AI. Last month, Tom Hanks warned about an ad that used an AI-generated image of himself on his Instagram account.

This incident is not the first instance of Johansson’s image being used without her consent.

In a 2018 interview with The Washington Post, she had spoken about women’s faces being artificially added to pornographic videos in computer-generated “deepfake” videos: “Nothing can stop someone from cutting my, or another’s image out and sticking it onto a different body, making it look as creepy as possible and as realistic as possible. There are basically no rules on the internet because, despite U.S. policies that are only applicable here, the internet is still almost an abyss that remains lawless.”