Bruce Willis is a beloved action hero, a powerful performer, and an effortless actor. Known best for his charismatic screen presence, he has since retired from acting due to his ongoing struggle with frontotemporal dementia, which has brutally affected his cognitive functions. Even though he has retired, the celebrated actor found a way to remain immortal when it comes to the film industry.
Just a year ago, the actor sold the rights to his ‘digital twin’ to a US firm called Deepcake. While Willis’s numerous Die Hard fans would love to have him back on the screen, the use of the tech is still controversial and a point of contention since the use of this tech is one of the reasons for the SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Bruce Willis’s Brilliant Yet Problematic Hack To Remain ‘Immortal’
Bruce Willis is counted among the top action stars of Hollywood. Known best for his Die Hard franchise, he has taken retirement from the craft due to his unfortunate medical condition. While his fans certainly miss him on the screen, Willis seemed to have taken appropriate measures to please his die-hard fans.
Last year he sold the rights of his being deep faked to a US firm, which would allow the firm to recreate him in any way possible. The firm even used his digital twin to create an advert for a Russian company. As per a statement on the company’s website (via Telegraph), Willis appeared to have stated,
“I liked the precision with which my character turned out. It’s a mini-movie in my usual action-comedy genre. For me, it is a great opportunity to go back in time. With the advent of modern technology, even when I was on another continent, I was able to communicate, work and participate in the filming. It’s a very new and interesting experience, and I thank our entire team.”
While the fans certainly appreciate the effort, the use of the Deepfake technology is largely controversial and one of the main causes of the SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Bruce Willis’s Immortality Hack Is Extremely Controversial
Deepfake technology is an AI that could generate real-life-like digital copies of humans, making them able to do anything on-screen. Not only could it replicate them up to a high level of perfection, but it could also make actors look younger or older, use their voices, and would replace ‘real actors’.
Even the multi-billion-dollar company, Disney came under fire for utilizing and even developing their deepfake technology called FRAN, which is a re-aging technology. It was recently used in the series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett among other projects. Even though it isn’t as perfect yet, it appears the studio is researching more into the tech and use of AI.
However, the use of such tech and other AI technologies is extremely controversial. Its use could replace background actors, misuse actors’ digital clones, replace film editors and animators, and whatnot. Hence, it is also one of the major causes of ongoing SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Source: Telegraph and The Guardian
