Robin Williams’ Instagram account has been revived by the late actor’s children, who intend to use the profile as a means of countering the misuse of his AI likeness. His daughter Zelda, alongside brothers Zak and Cody, announced the decision in a post published on Tuesday.
The siblings stated that they want the profile to be a “safe, trusted place where the stories, photos, videos, and memories shared reflect his legacy with authenticity, warmth, and care.” The account had remained inactive following Williams’ death in 2014.
Fighting Back Against AI Misuse
In a story posted to her own Instagram account, Zelda Williams explained that reactivating the profile is intended to help combat what she described as “rampant AI abuse” of her father’s voice and likeness. She acknowledged that some followers may have found the renewed activity on the page unsettling.
“Making that space into one where people can find authentic clips and photos of him is one of the best ways we’ve now found to fight back against rampant AI abuse of his voice and likeness on here,” she wrote.
The move follows earlier comments from Zelda Williams, who last year asked fans to stop sending her AI-generated videos of her father. She said watching “the legacies of real people be condensed down” so that others could “churn out horrible TikTok slop puppeteering them” was maddening.
The Wider Problem of AI Deepfakes
Although some AI chatbots include restrictions designed to prevent users from generating images or videos featuring the likeness of public figures or celebrities, these safeguards can still be circumvented. OpenAI’s now-shuttered Sora app became a hub for producing videos of copyrighted characters and well-known figures, while Grok has continued to generate sexualised AI deepfakes of famous women.
ByteDance’s AI model, Seedance, reached an agreement with the Motion Picture Association after weak safeguards allowed users to create scenes featuring the AI likenesses of Hollywood stars. Bad actors have also exploited the likenesses of celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Rihanna to promote scams on TikTok.
Zak, Zelda, and Cody Williams said they intend to use their father’s Instagram account to share his “unique talent and humor with the world”.
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Image: theverge.com
