Academy Award-winning actor Robert Downey Jr. has voiced his great dissatisfaction with the application of generative Artificial Intelligence to recreate his likeness, particularly with his famous character Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Downey, in an interview on the podcast “On With Kara Swisher,” joined Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar and Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher to discuss the implications of AI in modern storytelling. Asked how he felt about deepfakes and AI technology in general, Downey shared with the host, “There are two tracks. How do I feel about everything that’s going on? I feel minimal because I have an actual emotional life that doesn’t have a lot of room for that.”
Not that Downey was dissuading Marvel’s current regime. “I’m not concerned about them siphoning off my character’s soul,” he said. “There are three or four people who make all the decisions. And they would never do that to me, with or without me.”
This drew from Swisher the response that perhaps some future executives might have other plans. Downey responded in a joking manner: “I would like to state that I intend to sue all future executives just on spec.” The audience erupted into laughter, even more when Swisher referred to him as Elvis Presley and his estate.
Beyond critiquing AI, Downey also discussed the AI companies he has invested in. Technology’s ethics factored into his decisions. “It always comes down to not the technology or the opportunity to line my pockets,” he said, “but to the people involved. Do I think they have a moral psychology? For what reason are they deploying this?”
Currently, Downey has been starring in the stage play “McNeal,” playing a Nobel Prize-winning novelist who uses AI to compose a new work. Reviews for the Lincoln Center Theater production have been mixed. But Downey’s performance has been lauded by critics.
In the future, Downey is reportedly set to return to the MCU with “Avengers: Doomsday”. And “Avengers: Secret Wars,” both featuring his character Dr. Doom. Additionally, regarding AI, he has come up with considerations that are very topical in Hollywood. As the entertainment world decides which way to go forward to advance technologies around storytelling.
ANI
