Scarlett Johansson has called for the US government to explore legislation into artificial intelligence as a “top priority” after an AI-generated video of her and other Jewish celebrities slamming Kanye West hit the internet this week.
The video — which has been doing the rounds on social media — depicts the 40-year-old actress in a white t-shirt, with a hand giving the middle finger emblazoned on the front. At the centre of the hand is a Star of David and the word ‘Kanye’ is written underneath.
The video also features a dozen other Jewish celebrities including Jerry Seinfeld, Drake, Mila Kunis, and Jack Black wearing the controversial t-shirt and ends with an AI-generated image of Adam Sandler flipping off the camera. The Jewish folk song “Hava Nagila” plays in the background.
The video concludes with a title stating ‘Enough is Enough’ and urges viewers to ‘Join the Fight Against Antisemitism’.
PTV has chosen not to share the video. (Source: Instagram)
It is believed to have been originally shared by ‘generative AI expert’ Ori Bejerano to Instagram on Wednesday. In the caption, originally in Hebrew, he wrote the rapper has “crossed every possible red line” in recent days.
Responding to the now viral video, Johansson stressed the importance of addressing the growing misuse of AI technology, per Variety.
“I am a Jewish woman who has no tolerance for antisemitism or hate speech of any kind. But I also firmly believe that the potential for hate speech multiplied by AI is a far greater threat than any one person who takes accountability for it,” she said in a statement on Thursday (local time).
“We must call out the misuse of AI, no matter its messaging, or we risk losing a hold on reality.”
She also highlighted her personal experience, noting, “I have been a very public victim of AI” and remarked the threat of the technology “affects each and every one of us.”
“There is a 1000-foot wave coming regarding AI that several progressive countries, not including the United States, have responded to in a responsible manner. It is terrifying that the U.S. government is paralyzed when it comes to passing legislation that protects all of its citizens against the imminent dangers of AI,” the Black Widow actress stated.
She concluded by urging the US government to make the passing of legislation limiting AI use “a top priority”.
“It is a bipartisan issue that enormously affects the immediate future of humanity at large,” Johansson said.
While West was not named in the statement, the rapper has been in the news recently for a Super Bowl ad promoting his now-offline Yeezy website, where he was selling controversial T-shirts emblazoned with swastikas.
It came days after West went on a pro-Nazi, anti-semitic, and misogynistic rant on X (formerly Twitter) over the weekend. In the posts, he wrote billionaire Elon Musk “stole [his] Nazi swag at the inauguration” and that some of his best friends are Jewish and he doesn’t “trust any of them”.
He has since been dropped by his talent agency.
Meanwhile, Johansson’s call for stronger AI regulations follows a long legal saga of her own with the technology.
In May last year, she said she was “shocked” to come across OpenAI’s GPT-4o chatbot named Sky, which reportedly used her voice from 2013 movie Her. It was later revealed Johansson had been approached by OpenAI to use her voice for the project although she turned down the offer.
The actress voiced a self-aware computer operating system named Samantha in the movie Her. (Source: IMDb, Samir Hussein / Getty Images)
At the time, the actress had flagged the need for “appropriate legislation” to ensure individual rights are protected as deepfakes and other AI-generated content grows more popular.
Last month, Brad Pitt was also spurred to speak out after a 53-year-old French woman lost over $1 million to a scammer pretending to be the Academy Award-winning actor.
Lead image: Getty Images
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