The capabilities of AI grow with each passing day, aiding some fields and disrupting others. AI was, partly, a focus in the recently concluded WGA strikes, and it’s an issue that Zelda Williams, daughter of late comedian Robin Williams, has strong feelings about.
Both Zelda, 34, and her older half-brother Zak are devoted to protecting their father’s legacy and memory. Zak has advocated for mental health awareness and Zelda has discussed the sensitivity of having actors and look-alikes imitate Williams. In light of the use of AI to imitate actors and generate live-action content, Zelda has condemned these types of creative choices both on behalf of her father and for all others in the industry whose work may be in peril.
Zelda Williams addresses the use of AI to recreate Robin Williams’s voice
On Sunday, Zelda took to Instagram to share a Story post outlining her thoughts on the use of AI in creative endeavors. “I am not an impartial voice in SAG’s fight against AI,” she declared. “I’ve witnessed for YEARS how many people want to train these models to create/re-create actors who cannot consent, like Dad. This isn’t theoretical, it is very very real.”
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She continued, “I’ve already heard AI used to get his ‘voice’ to say whatever people want and while I find it personally disturbing, the ramifications go far beyond my own feelings.” Specifically, “Living actors deserve a chance to create characters with their choices, to voice cartoons, to put their HUMAN effort and time into the pursuit of performance.”
An issue close to the heart on multiple fronts
Speaking further about how actors should be treated, Zelda concluded by slamming AI, saying, “These re-creations are, at their very best, a poor facsimile of greater people, but at their worst, a horrendous Frankensteinian monster, cobbled together from the worst bits of everything this industry is, instead of what it should stand for.”
It’s a careful line the industry has been stumbling along since the advent of AI and its ability to recreate a person’s voice and face – and so much more. Disney has a new short on the horizon called Once Upon a Studio, which brings together several beloved characters from its most popular IPs. This, however, uses unused archived audio from Williams, not vocals created by an AI.
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Williams and Disney famously parted ways bitterly when Williams demanded that his name not be used as promotional material; he did not want to be the merchandising face of Disney.
Today, with Zelda now safeguarding his legacy, Williams is also being defended by Josh Gad, the voice of Olaf in Disney’s Frozen. Gad assured followers that the use of archived audio was done with permission by Williams’s estate and insisted, “I would never do anything unless I was guaranteed that it was with all of the proper sign-off and support.”
However, there is reportedly a restriction in Williams’s will that prohibits the use of his appearance and voice for advertisements; this restricts the use of his legacy until August 11, 2039. However, given that Williams and Disney did eventually reconcile, this clause may have had exceptions.
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