Typically, an actor telling their business associates that they’d take their asses to court from beyond the grave (and win) if they recreate their likeness with AI would feel reserved for someone going full method while embodying Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. But not everyone is Oscar winner and Marvel star Robert Downey Jr.
In a recent episode of the “On With Kara Swisher” podcast (via Variety), Downey unequivocally stated his opposition to Hollywood using AI technology to create a digital version of his likeness for the silver screen. He underscored his stance against AI by declaring his intention to sue any future executives who sign off on the idea.
The news of Downey joining his colleagues in their fight against AI is reassuring for those concerned that his making more money than god wouldn’t prevent him from aligning with their creative and artistic morals. Downey’s based AI sound bite was not without context; it emerged during Downey and Swisher’s conversation about his Broadway debut in McNeal—a one-act play by Ayad Akhtar that explores a writer’s battle with alcoholism, mental health, and an “unhealthy fascination with artificial intelligence.” At some point, their talk shifted towards pop culture, touching upon Downey’s upcoming return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Dr. Doom.
In a pretty on-the-nose display of saying the quiet part out loud, Downey expressed his belief that the folks over at Marvel wouldn’t be uncouth enough to use a digital AI copy of his likeness when he passes on. It should be noted that parent company, Disney (via Lucasfilm), is being sued for reanimating Peter Cushing’s likeness post-mortem as Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
“To go back to the MCU, I am not worried about them hijacking my character’s soul because there’s like three or four guys and gals who make all the decisions there anyway and they would never do that to me, with or without me,” Downey said.
When podcast host Swisher doused the optimistic Downey with a dose of reality, saying “future executives certainly will” seek to recreate his likeness for their films, Downey firmly pushed back the idea, vowing to “sue all future executives just on spec.” Moreover, Downey declared that his law firm would “still be very active” even after he’s passed away.
“I don’t envy anyone who has been over-identified with the advent of this new phase of the information age. The idea that somehow it belongs to them because they have these super huge start-ups is a fallacy,” Downey told Swisher, referring to tech CEOs like OpenAI’s Sam Altman. “The problem is when these individuals believe that they are the arbiters of managing this but meanwhile are wanting and/or needing to be seen in a favorable light. That is a massive fucking error. It turns me off and makes me not want to engage with them because they are not being truthful.”
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