Tom Hanks Speaks Up On AI Future For Actors

Tom Hanks himself has already been a victim of the misuse of his image via AI as his likeness was used to promote a dental plan in October 2023. Due to the readily available access to the technology, Hanks believes one must be hypervigilant regarding the subject. Though the deal that ended the SAG-AFTRA strikes did include provisions for the use and replication of an actor/actress’s image, likeness, and voice without consent, Tom Hank’s overall outlook on the current “rules” is not super favorable. 

He believes more will have to be done to bring structure to what is now the “wild, wild, west” of AI technology. “They’ll have to get to that again later on,” Hanks touted. 

The actor remains realistic on the matter, stating that he realizes that the audience may not care much about the use of AI in movies and commercials. Tom Hanks noted (in a roundabout manner) that the lackadaisical viewpoint of viewers may stall any real legal progress for actors/actresses in Hollywood. 

Hanks went on to talk about the fact that some people in the audience may not like AI portrayals of well-known stars, because they aren’t actually humans. However, there will be a large enough audience that simply doesn’t care about the substitute because the story is good. 

Tom Hanks, being a vocal lover of history, talked about how the issue of AI isn’t any different than the challenges screen actors faced when the invention of sound became a big deal. Change is inevitable in life and in the movies, and change requires adjustment. 

Tom’s love of history (and fascination with the moon landing, in particular) has been a major theme throughout his life and career. Tom Hanks has talked about how seeing the first moon landing televised in 1969 sparked his incessant love for the moon and for the impact such events have on the world. 

When speaking of his experience, Hanks said, “Oh, my God, I [felt] lucky to be alive. I was this generation that could talk about this great Rubicon of history.” 

After talking of a time when there was a major war going on throughout the world, the Mideast was in crisis, families were split due to their political views, the environment was in danger, and people didn’t have the money to pay their rent, Tom Hanks then asked the question … “Am I talking about 1969 or 2023?”. “I don’t know if it’s ever going to happen again in humanity that we’re all watching something that is … so unifying,” he said of that first moonwalk.

The most current project Tom Hanks has been working to complete has much to do with the moon. The Moonwalkers aims to offer audiences an immersive experience by taking a new and improved look at the various space voyages that led to the moon utilizing the magic of music and digital projections. Regardless of the future of AI and other tech advances in the movies, Tom Hanks will forever be a marked part of history in the minds of movie lovers all around the world.