Celebrities Use AI to Take Control of Their Own Images

With the rise of generative AI, digital replicas of famous faces have begun appearing online with greater frequency—often without the permission of their subjects.

Now celebrities are attempting to co-opt this AI craze. They are making deals with brands to put AI-created duplicates of themselves into marketing campaigns—giving them more control over their own likenesses and more latitude in the types of deals they can make. Brands, meanwhile, can use digital duplicates in ways they never could use the stars themselves—such as changing the stars’ appearance to de-age them, having them perform feats the real celebrities never could and holding spontaneous conversations with customers.