From Tom Hanks to Alia Bhatt, the celebrities that have been targeted by AI-generated deepfakes

What do Tom Hanks, Alia Bhatt, Katrina Kaif, and Sara Tendulkar have in common? They’ve all recently had a taste of the deepfake treatment, courtesy of modern technology’s mischievous side. On October 1, Hollywood actor Tom Hanks warned fans that an AI-generated video of him pitching a dental plan is not real. This week Indian actress Alia Bhatt became the latest target of deepfake with a morphed clip which originally shows a woman making obscene gestures at the camera. Earlier this month, actress Rashmika Mandanna also became a victim of a disturbing incident when a video featuring her through deepfake went viral. This was followed by the circulation of manipulated images featuring Katrina Kaif, Sara Tendulkar, and cricketer Shubman Gill, all falling prey to the perils of deepfake technology.

For those unaware, deepfakes are fake images or videos made using artificial intelligence. They involve replacing a person in an existing image or video with someone else’s face. This recent outcry in Bollywood over the misuse of deepfake technology is understandable, but there’s also the classic paradox. In the recent past, the same entertainment industry has extensively used this technology to its advantage. Film stars regularly enjoy the benefits of the same technology, and then shout about it being misused. Let’s look at a couple of examples from the last few years.

In 2020, Shah Rukh Khan, serving as the brand ambassador for a major chocolate company, was featured in AI-powered, highly personalised advertisements of over 2,000 grocery and retail stores. They utilised machine learning to replicate Shah Rukh Khan’s appearance and voice to endorse these local stores across India. Salman Khan appeared in a soft drink ad in 2022 where a younger version of him was shown using deepfake technology.

In fact, all the top Indian actors have been using the deepfake for ‘de-ageing’ on screen to play their younger selves: Superstar Rajinikanth, in almost all his films in the last few years, Salman Khan in Bharat (2019), SRK in Fan (2016), Zero (2018), and now in his upcoming Dunki (2023), and Aamir Khan in Lal Singh Chaddha (2022). In Hollywood, the most notable case is Paul Walker, who tragically passed away after partially filming Furious 7 (2015). He was brought back to life in the film using his brother as a body double and deepfake technology. Closer to home, a brief scene of the late Amrish Puri was recreated in this year’s blockbuster Gadar 2 using the same technology. Isn’t it ironic that there’s a widespread effort to vilify deepfake technology when it has firmly established its presence in entertainment industries worldwide?

If celebrities (or their families) willingly permit their digital personas to be employed in deepfakes for both movies and lucrative advertisements, why is there such a fuss about this technology? Has there ever been a technology without both advantages and disadvantages? So the problem is not with the technology.Then, what is the underlying issue? It ultimately boils down to a simple yet vital factor: consent. When deepfakes are used without someone’s consent, it is a violation of their privacy and can have serious consequences.