In recent years, there has been much debate about the practice using celebrities’ digital likenesses without their consent, either after death or while still alive. Zelda Williams, for one Lisa Frankenstein Robin Williams’ director and daughter – last year criticized the “disturbing” trend of people trying to recreate the voices and faces of the deceased, as prominent actors fought for better protections around, among other things, studios’ potential use of artificial intelligence clones. But despite the obvious ethical problems, companies continue to do it. The latest? Soul Machines has just been introduced”Digital Marilyn,” an AI chatbot designed to look and talk like Marilyn Monroe.
The company, which specializes in what it calls Digital Humans powered by biological artificial intelligence, debuted Marilyn’s bot at SXSW on Friday in collaboration with Authentic Brands Group. ABG owns the rights to the likenesses of Monroe and numerous other celebrities, both dead and alive, including Elvis Presley and Shaq. Powered by GPT 3.5, Digital Marilyn is “hyper-realistic” and can respond with “emotions and nuanced expressions,” Soul Machines says in a press release. He can talk for about 20 minutes.
“More than just an impressive imitation, Digital Marilyn is an autonomous Digital Person capable of engaging in natural, dynamic conversations that feel authentic and responsive,” writes Soul Machines. blog post. “It’s as if Marilyn’s own spark has been transformed into the age of artificial intelligence, offering a unique and deeply personal connection for loyal fans and curious newcomers alike.” Does anyone else’s skin crawl?
Soul Machines touts its digital celebrities (there are others, including the upcoming Carmelo Anthony bot) as a way for famous people to have “unlimited 1-on-1 engagement with their fans” and to “provide 24/7 connectivity.” Notably, all of the other AI celebrities the company currently offers conversations with — Mark Tuan, Francis Ngannou, and Jack Nicklaus — are living men and thus can weigh in on their inclusion. Soul Machines has released its Marilyn Monroe AI to the public Instagram Write for International Women’s Day, because nothing says “celebrate women” like using a famous female character who’s no longer around to give permission.
