Robin Williams’ Instagram account brought back to fight ‘AI abuse’ | The Verge

Overview

Tech Expand Amazon Apple Facebook Google Microsoft Samsung Business See all tech

Reviews Expand Smart Home Reviews Phone Reviews Tablet Reviews Headphone Reviews See all reviews

Details

Science Expand Space Energy Environment Health See all science

Entertainment Expand TV Shows Movies Audio See all entertainment

Policy Expand Antitrust Politics Law Security See all policy

Gadgets Expand Laptops Phones TVs Headphones Speakers Wearables See all gadgets

Verge Shopping Expand Buying Guides Deals Gift Guides See all shopping

Streaming Expand Disney HBONetflix You Tube Creators See all streaming

Transportation Expand Electric Cars Autonomous Cars Ride-sharing Scooters See all transportation

Entertainment Close Entertainment Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Entertainment

Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

AIClose AIPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All AI

Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

News Close News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All News

Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

Robin Williams’ Instagram account brought back to fight ‘AI abuse’

Zelda, Zak, and Cody Williams say their father’s Instagram account will be a ‘trusted place’ to share photos, videos, and memories.

Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

Robin Williams’ children are taking over their father’s Instagram account after his daughter spoke out against the use of his AI likeness, as reported earlier by The Wrap. In a post on Tuesday, Zak, Zelda, and Cody Williams write that they want the late actor’s Instagram profile to be a “safe, trusted place where the stories, photos, videos, and memories shared reflect his legacy with authenticity, warmth, and care.”

A story posted to Zelda Williams’ own Instagram account expands on the decision to bring back her father’s profile, saying that it’s meant to help combat “rampant AI abuse,” according to The Wrap:

I’m sorry if anyone found Dad’s old page posting again to be triggering. Believe me, I know it’s a little strange. 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.

Robin Williams’ Instagram account remained inactive following his death in 2014. Last year, Zelda Williams asked fans to stop sending her AI-generated videos of her father. “To watch the legacies of real people be condensed down to ‘this vaguely looks and sounds like them so that’s enough’, just so other people can churn out horrible Tik Tok slop puppeteering them is maddening,” she wrote at the time.

Though some AI chatbots have restrictions in place to prevent users from generating images or videos with the AI likeness of a public figure or celebrity, these guardrails can still be bypassed. Open AI’s now-shuttered Sora app became a hotbed for generating videos of copyrighted characters and celebrities, while Grok is still generating sexualized AI deepfakes of famous women, according to Wired.

Byte Dance’s AI model, Seedance, also struck an agreement with the Motion Picture Association after lax guardrails allowed users to generate scenes with the AI likenesses of their favorite Hollywood stars. Bad actors have even used the AI likenesses of celebrities, like Taylor Swift and Rihanna, to push scams on Tik Tok.

Zelda, Zak, and Cody Williams add that they’re going to use their father’s Instagram account to share his “unique talent and humor with the world.”

Emma Roth Close Emma Roth News Writer Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All by Emma Roth

Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

AIClose AIPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All AI

Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

Entertainment Close Entertainment Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Entertainment

Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

Film Close Film Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Film

Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

Instagram Close Instagram Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Instagram

Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

Meta Close Meta Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Meta

Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

News Close News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All News

Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

Tech Close Tech Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Tech

Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

You Tube is changing how it counts views to give the numbers a boost

Elon Musk made flying even worse so Palantir could profit

Apple’s camera-equipped Air Pods appear in leaked video

Coyote vs. Acme is even funnier because Warner Bros. Discovery tried to kill it

Key Takeaways

Tech Expand Amazon Apple Facebook Google Microsoft Samsung Business See all tech
Reviews Expand Smart Home Reviews Phone Reviews Tablet Reviews Headphone Reviews See all reviews
Science Expand Space Energy Environment Health See all science
Entertainment Expand TV Shows Movies Audio See all entertainment
Policy Expand Antitrust Politics Law Security See all policy