Jamie Yeo, a Singaporean actress, model, and former radio DJ, doesn't mind being deepfaked. She even registered for it.
Ms. Yeo makes a joke about how similar it is to the Salma Hayek episode of Black Mirror.
The day after the new season of Charlie Brooker's Netflix series premiered, she gave an interview to the BBC. Salma Hayek, who plays a fictionalized version of herself, gives her image to a production company in the first episode.
The agreement enables them to "star" in their brand-new TV drama with an artificial intelligence- or AI-generated deepfake version of the Hollywood A-lister. The computer decides what she says and does on the show.
Without giving away the plot, Ms. Hayek will suffer negative effects.
The first Hollywood actors strike in more than four decades, which halted the US film and television industry, was partially motivated by worries about the effects of AI.
It follows the failure of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) to reach a deal in the US to give its members better protections against the abuse of AI.
As it got ready to fight over the issue, the actors' union issued a warning that "artificial intelligence poses an existential threat to creative professions.".
Ms. Yeo, however, is unconcerned. She is one of many celebrities who are embracing artificial intelligence-generated advertising.
The response to the new technology is a mix of excitement and apprehension.
Ms. Yeo recently signed a contract with financial technology company Hugosave allowing it to sell their content using a digitally altered likeness of her.
The procedure is not too difficult. She spends a few hours in front of a green screen getting her face and movements recorded, and then she spends a few more hours getting her voice recorded in a recording studio.
The images and audio are then synced by an AI program to produce a digital alter-ego that can say almost anything. The outcomes are strange.
She responds, "I do understand the worry, but this technology is here to stay.". "Therefore, even if you don't embrace it because you're afraid, other people will do so. ".
Some have already. Superstar footballer Lionel Messi agreed as part of his contract with PepsiCo to allow the company to use a deep-fake of him to promote Lay's crisps.
Online users have the option of recording "Lionel Messi" saying custom messages in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Turkish.
Bruce Willis and David Beckham, two other football stars, have also experimented with deepfake technology. However, unlike Ms. Yeo, they have so far refrained from signing away all of their image rights.
According to Dr. Kirk Plangger, a marketing specialist at King's College London, "I think deepfakes will just become part of normal practice in the advertising industry over the next few years.".
It provides access to a wide range of imaginative possibilities. They are frequently very persuasive and have the ability to micro-target consumers. ".
From a business perspective, the process is appealing because of how effective it is.
Ms. Yeo remarks, "You're not doing that much work for the money you're charging.
"The client on a budget will benefit as well because they will receive a lot more content than they would from a typical shoot. Thus, it benefits everyone. " .
Hugosave, a company with headquarters in Singapore, the client, concurs.
"With this technology at our disposal, we can create hundreds of videos in just a few days. Braham Djidjelli, co-founder and chief product officer of Hugosave, compares this to the months, if not years, that we would require if we were filming the content in the conventional manner.
We can use AI to our advantage while still maintaining the human touch of a well-known local face, in this case Jamie's. ".
But as experts like Dr. Plangger point out, technology has a "dark side.".
He declares, "It's not something we can put back into the box. "The advertising sector needs to become aware of both the dangers and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence. It entails taking a step back and considering what is an appropriate or ethical use of this technology as a society. ".
One of the issues Dr. Plangger is addressing is the impending "crisis of trust," in which consumers are unable to distinguish between what is real and what is fake. Online vested interests are already taking advantage of this, and examples include politically charged misinformation and synthetically altered pornography.
This week, BBC News is concentrating on AI, how the technology affects our lives, and potential future effects.
However, there are also more tangible dangers associated with the talent voluntarily agreeing to be deepfaked. There are currently no definite laws governing AI that would guarantee your image is adequately protected.
What would happen, for instance, if a company used your digital alter ego to promote a bad-taste joke or product that could harm your reputation?
When it comes to AI and deepfake technology, we are in uncharted territory, according to Tng Sheng Rong, an intellectual property lawyer at Rajah and Tann in Singapore.
"Many, many problems could develop. The reality is that the current laws do not provide a strong enough regulatory framework to prevent these issues, such as who owns the intellectual property and where to seek legal recourse. ".
Before buying the rights to digital versions of Hollywood A-listers, for instance, that could be the last hurdle for advertisers to clear.
Ms. Yeo claims that while she is still very aware of the risks, her decision was primarily driven by trust in Hugosave and the way that business is conducted in Singapore.
But ultimately, she claims, it's about continuing to be innovative.
"You need to learn how to play the game if you want to stay in it. Since you should probably just retire if you don't. ".
Annabelle Liang, a business reporter for the BBC, has more information.
