Queen Latifah, the groundbreaking rapper turned actress, is a bona fide entertainment icon. She already has half “EGOT” status, with both an Emmy and a Grammy to her name, leaving just a Tony and an Oscar to complete the quartet. (She has been Oscar-nominated and won a Golden Globe, though.) Now she’s part of the AI revolution.
The celebrity has partnered with Lenovo to distribute her AI-generated image to small businesses across the U.S. and Canada, even though, she tells Fortune, “I feel the nervousness that everyone else feels” around the technology. In customized videos that can be used as ads, Queen Latifah’s AI persona can recommend customers visit a specific business and list reasons why: for instance, quick service and affordable prices.
“I think it’s inevitable,” she elaborates on her decision. “It’s a bell we can’t un-ring.”
Artificial intelligence’s impact on entertainment hasn’t just been a major conversation in Hollywood this year, but it was the impetus behind a historic double strike by the unions for screenwriters and actors. The SAG-AFTRA union, of which Queen Latifah is a member, went on strike for nearly four months beginning in July, as both performers and writers advocated for protections around the use of AI technologies, including consent and compensation when studios want to use a member’s likeness. With the strikes over and securing only some protections, the future of AI in the industry can only be made clear by how companies and celebrities choose to employ it.
“I wanted to be a part of how my image is used and make sure the ‘Queen Latifah’ everyone has known through the years—someone who has supported women and minorities and small business—was the same one they would see in AI,” said the star, who got her start as a rapper in the late ‘80s and began her acting career in the ‘90s. “This is an entry point into that.”
The project is part of Lenovo Evolve Small, the tech company’s two-year-old initiative to support small businesses in North America by providing them with grants, tech products, and mentorship. Any small business can apply to receive a personalized, digitally generated video depicting Queen Latifah to use for advertising purposes—free of charge. Lenovo covers all compensation for the celebrity.
As part of a larger contest, Lenovo will select six small businesses in January to receive additional advertising materials with Queen Latifah’s image, including billboards and paid social content. Winners will also take home a $15,000 check, $10,000-worth of Lenovo tech products, and other business development materials. Twelve other businesses will get smaller prizes, excluding the Queen Latifah ads but including the $15,000 check. In total, the winnings have a value of $384,000.
Every video with Queen Latifah’s likeness gets approved by her or her team before being sent to the companies. In her contract, she outlined exactly what kinds of businesses she wants her image to appear with and what the videos can and can’t be used for. Off-limits businesses include those selling alcohol, financial services, and some medical products like IV drips and nutritional supplements, for example.
“Unfortunately, there will always be people who don’t use this technology in the right way,” she said. “I’m hoping that the world wakes up and realizes we have to create some protections. But at the same time, it can be used in a lot of positive ways, and I want to get ahead of it in that sense.”
Taking control of your digital image
The Evolve Small contest tackles two of the biggest problems facing small businesses today—marketing and access to capital, according to small-business consultant Adebukola Ajao, who runs her own agency. And given Queen Latifah’s reputation for being well-liked, “I think it will be well received by the public,” Ajao told Fortune.
Lenovo’s project isn’t the first instance of someone’s AI likeness being used in advertising. In 2021, media companies Ogilvy and Wavemaker headed a similar initiative in which the AI-generated image of actor Shah Rukh Khan promoted small businesses throughout India.
“It’s a good use of the technology and a good example of a celebrity taking ownership and control of their digital image,” Jim Lecinski, marketing professor at Northwestern University, told Fortune. “In her case, she’s not signing away all her rights to Warner Bros. forever. She’s doing a limited project on a limited basis with Lenovo, where all the parties can test and learn.”
While it is likely consumers will see more AI-generated celebrity images in the future, there are other, less obvious applications of AI in marketing, he said. The technology can personalize mass emails to the individual recipient by selecting a subject line, image, and delivery time tailored to each user. AI-generated avatars may also pop up in how-to videos, to offer visual aids for consumers building or fixing a product. While in the past, companies would have to hire an actor and find studio space to film, he said, AI offers a different solution.
