Synthesia accused of violating AI actors' integrity, trust

Human actors accused AI-generated video content company Synthesia of violating their integrity, trust and reputation when they found their AI-generated avatars used for political and unethical purposes. What happened UK-based actors Dan Dewhirst , Mark Torres and others told The Guardian that were horrified to discover that their likenesses had been used in AI-powered propaganda clips generated by groups linked to authoritarian states such as China, Russia, and Venezuela. Actor and one-time Synthesia model Dan Dewhirst discovered his likeness was being used in AI-generated economic propaganda pushed by the government of Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro. As a result, he said he may have lost clients and that his reputation had been damaged. Mark Torres says he was shocked to find out that his likeness had been used in a propaganda video supporting Burkina Faso’s dictator. " People will think I am involved in the coup," he told The Guardian . Why it happened Synthesia says it does not allow “the use of stock avatars for political content, including content that is factually accurate but may create polarisation”, and that its policies were designed to stop its avatars being used for “manipulation, deceptive practices, impersonations and false associations”. D espite Synthesia's stated commitment to responsible AI practices, critics believe that these measures are not sufficient to prevent abuse of the platform. What it means If proven true, the claims may undermine trust in Synthesia and similar platforms , potentially leading to stricter regulation and oversight in the AI industry in the UK and elsewhere. More broadly, the accusations reflect concerns about the impact of AI on the creative industries, including loss of jobs and skills and the loss of copyright and income for actors, rights owners and others. T he allegations also highlight the challenges AI companies face in maintaining ethical standards while innovating rapidly. System 🤖 Synthesia AI video generator Developer: Synthesia Country: UK Sector: Media/entertainment/sports/arts; Politics Purpose: Generate video Technology: Generative AI; Machine learning; Text-to-speech; Video-to-video Issue: Auth enticity/integrity; Employment/labour Investigations, assessments, audits 👁️ Equit y. Actor’s experience of AI gone wrong Equity. Stop AI Stealing the Show

Date it happened

2024-10-01

Product, system or model

Synthesia

This is a record of what was reported, not a finding that anyone broke the law. If it names your organisation and you believe it is wrong, the corrections process is free and open to everyone.