Marilyn Monroe, who passed away in 1962 at the age of 36, was artificially brought back to life at South by Southwest, commonly referred to as SXSW, a conference and series of festivals held every March in Austin, Texas.
Soul Machines, a New Zealand-based company that uses biological artificial intelligence (AI) technology to create digital people, unveiled a life-like “Digital Marilyn” during this year’s event—raising ethical concerns about using deceased celebrities’ voices and appearances after their deaths.
“AI-induced digital resurrection poses legal and ethical concerns. This assumes everyone wants to be resurrected, when not everyone does,” Kris Ruby, television commentator and founder of the New York-based public relations firm Ruby Media Group, told Fox News Digital.
“There is an expression called rest in peace. AI essentially hijacks this concept by making sure that no one will ever rest in peace again,” Ms. Ruby declared.
“If everyone is eternally alive forever with deepfake replicas, who is resting, and where is the peace? Not only will we be competing against machines, we will also be competing against the dead. Has anyone stopped to think about the consequences for what that looks like to the next generation of the workforce?” she queried.
Digital Marilyn Monroe
According to a press release issued by Soul Machines, its AI-generated chatbot “interacts with fans in real-time using advanced natural language processing, deep learning, and GPT 3.5.” The company explained in a blog post that its “Digital Marilyn” is autonomous and can engage in “dynamic conversations.”
The chatbot “answers questions in Marilyn’s signature voice and style, shares anecdotes, and even delivers personalized greetings, creating an unforgettable experience for Marilyn fans,” the press release reads.
The company noted that every interaction with the chatbot is unique. “Digital Marilyn analyzes your preferences and tailors her responses accordingly ... on an individual level,” the statement continues.
The interactive experience was made in partnership with Authentic Brands Group, a brand management company that manages the rights to the late actress’ image and likeness.
Authentic also oversees the likeness rights or estates of other deceased celebrities, including Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali, as well as public figures who are still living, such as David Beckham and Shaquille O'Neal.
Celebrities Speak Out Against AI
A slew of notable Hollywood figures have lamented the emergence of artificial intelligence, airing their grievances about its possible implications on the entertainment industry, including in television and film.Actress Candace Cameron Bure, known for her role on the family sitcom “Full House,” told Fox News earlier this year that AI’s use in filmmaking was “a little frightening” to her.
“I'll be keeping my eye on it for sure,” she noted. “However, we are using wonderful writers to write our movies, and I have no intention of using or touching AI when it comes to our filmmaking and writing scripts.”
Actress and filmmaker Justine Bateman, star of the television sitcom “Family Ties,” has previously criticized the intelligence software, telling Fox News last May that it “has no place in Hollywood at all.”
“To me, tech should solve problems that humans have,” she shared. “Using ChatGPT or any … software that’s using AI to write screenplays, using that in place of a writer is not solving a problem.”
Ms. Bateman continued: “We don’t have a lack of writers. We don’t have a lack of actors. We don’t have a lack of directors. We don’t have a lack of talented people.”
Last September, Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks took to Instagram to warn his followers that his likeness had been used without his consent via AI-generated content that allegedly aired during a dental plan advertisement.
“John Wick” star Keanu Reeves also weighed in on the issue during a 2023 interview with Wired, recalling how one of his scenes from an unspecified movie had been digitally altered.
“Early on, in the early 2000s, or it might have been the ’90s, I had a performance changed,” he said. “They added a tear to my face, and I was just like, ‘Huh?!’
“What’s frustrating about that is you lose your agency,” he continued. “When you give a performance in a film, you know you’re going to be edited, but you’re participating in that. If you go into deepfake land, it has none of your points of view. That’s scary.”
