Tom Hanks Says With AI, He Could Die And His ‘Performances Can Go On And On And On’

 Actor Tom Hanks talked about the use of Artificial Intelligence in Hollywood and said that technology exists now such that he could die tomorrow and his “performances can go on and on and on.”

During the 66-year-old actor’s recent appearance on “The Adam Buxton Podcast,” Hanks said his work could continue when he’s no longer on this earth as he and the host debated whether people will care if a film features AI Hanks or the real thing, Variety reported.

“What is a bona fide possibility right now, if I wanted to, [is] I could get together and pitch a series of seven movies that would star me in them in which I would be 32 years old from now until kingdom come,” the “Cast Away” star said.

“Anybody can now recreate themselves at any age they are by way of AI or deep fake technology … I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it, but my performances can go on and on and on,” he added. “Outside the understanding of AI and deepfake, there’ll be nothing to tell you that it’s not me and me alone.”

“And it’s going to have some degree of lifelike quality,” the Oscar-winning actor continued. “That’s certainly an artistic challenge, but it’s also a legal one. Without a doubt people will be able to tell [that it’s AI], but the question is, will they care? There are some people that won’t care, that won’t make that delineation.”

Stars like Harrison Ford, Keanu Reeves, and more have started to speak out about AI, both for and against the technology.

“They have this artificial intelligence program that can go through every foot of film that Lucasfilm owns,” Ford said of George Lucas’ production company, making him look younger in the final film in the “Indiana Jones” franchise. 

“They have all this footage, including film that wasn’t printed,” he added. “So they can mine it from where the light is coming from, from the expression. I don’t know how they do it. But that’s my actual face. Then I put little dots on my face, and I say the words, and they make [it]. It’s fantastic.”

Reeves, who famously played a character who fought AI in “The Matrix,” isn’t as keen on the technology. He said he realized a while ago that he needed to have legal protection to prohibit digital manipulation of performances without his consent.