Why Tom Hanks is betting on AI to keep him 'alive' after death

"Without a doubt, people will be able to tell, but the question is, will they care?" says Tom Hans about AI

Web Desk

May 17, 2023

US actor Tom Hanks arrives at a special screening of Columbia Pictures A Man Called Otto, at Dot Dash Meredith in New York City on January 9, 2023. — AFP — US actor Tom Hanks arrives at a special screening of Columbia Pictures' A Man Called Otto, at Dot Dash Meredith in New York City on January 9, 2023. — AFP

As the fast-paced advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is worrying tech leaders and experts, Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks seems to be looking at the brighter side of the most disruptive technology so far.

During the latest "The Adam Buxton Podcast", Hanks, while underlining the capabilities of AI, said: "What is a bona fide possibility right now, if I wanted to, [is] I could get together and pitch a series of seven movies that would star me in them in which I would be 32 years old from now until kingdom come." Hanks told the latest episode of the podcast released Saturday.

The legendary Hollywood actor noted: "Anybody can now recreate themselves at any age they are by way of AI or deep fake technology … I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it, but my performances can go on and on and on."

"Outside of the understanding that it’s been done by AI or deep fake, there’ll be nothing to tell you that it’s not me and me alone and it’s going to have some degree of lifelike quality," Tom Hank added.

Hanks also noted that his AI personality won’t be able to act as he would however, it is doubted that the people would care.

"Without a doubt, people will be able to tell, but the question is, will they care? There are some people that won’t care, that won’t make that delineation."

Creating an AI Hanks would be easier as his likeness and movements were recorded for use in the 2004 movie "The Polar Express," he noted.

A technology similar to that was also used in the latest Indiana Jones film, for which Harrison Ford, 80, was "de-aged" for the opening sequence.

US actor Harrison Ford speaks onstage during the 95th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 12, 2023. — AFP

Filmmakers trawled archived material of the younger Ford before matching it to new footage, creating the illusion of Indiana Jones in 1944.

"We saw this coming, we saw that there was going to be this ability in order to take zeros and ones inside a computer and turn it into a face and a character. Now, that has only grown a billionfold since then and we see it everywhere."

The developments in AI encourage movie agents to write contracts to protect actors’ likenesses as intellectual property, Forrest Gump actor stated.

"I can tell you that there [are] discussions going on in all of the guilds, all of the agencies, and all of the legal firms in order to come up with the legal ramifications of my face and my voice and everybody else’s being our intellectual property," 66-year-old said.

The actor is promoting his first novel "The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece."

As per the official synopsis, the book is based on "a wildly ambitious story of the making of a colossal, star-studded, multimillion-dollar superhero action film, and the humble comic book that inspired it all."

In an interview with the BBC, he explained why he took on the project. "Sometimes you just have to have some other reason to spark your imagination," Cast Away actor stated while adding that his novel will "live and die based on its own ability to entertain and enlighten an audience."