An online ad featuring an artificial intelligence-generated version of Scarlett Johansson without her permission appears to no longer be online following a request from the actor’s attorney.
Lisa AI: 90s Yearbook & Avatar allegedly used actual footage of Johansson from a campaign she did in conjunction with Omaze, a for-profit fundraising company that often partners with celebrities, and Marvel Studios, according to Variety.
NBC News has not viewed the advertisement. It appears to no longer be on X, where it originated.
“We do not take these things lightly,” Kevin Yorn, Johansson’s attorney, said in a statement. “Per our usual course of action in these circumstances, we will deal with it with all legal remedies that we will have.”
The advertisement first began to bubble up on X around Saturday. Text under the advertisement read, “Images produced by Lisa AI. It has nothing to do with this person,” according to Variety.
Lisa AI is one of a number of AI apps that have flooded the market in recent months. It lets users “create amazing artworks with AI,” including text suggestions that produce images, its website says. As of Wednesday night, the app appeared to be available on both Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
Representatives for Lisa AI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Johansson is the latest celebrity to take issue with the alleged misuse of her likeness in AI, as deepfakes — a type of artificial media in which people’s faces are replaced with those of other people — and the technology behind them becomes more sophisticated.
Actors have also been sounding the alarm about AI images for some time. The digitally altered images have been a sticking point in the negotiations between the Hollywood studios and SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, which is on strike.
Last month, actor Tom Hanks posted on Instagram that he had “nothing to do with” a computer-generated image of him “promoting some dental plan.” Zelda Williams, the daughter of the late actor/comedian Robin Williams, called the AI recreations of him circulating on the internet “personally disturbing.” And YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson, who goes by Mr Beast, also shared with his millions of followers that a deepfake advertisement using his likeness was a scam. The advertisement he posted about was quickly removed from TikTok.
