Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson has slammed the US government’s lack of AI regulation as her image was used in an AI-generated video attacking controversial rapper Kanye West.
The video, which has been circulating social media, features Johanssen, who is Jewish, wearing a white T-shirt featuring a hand with its middle finger extended and in the centre of a Star of David. The name “Kanye” is written underneath.
AI-generated images of other Jewish celebrities such as Drake and Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg also appear in the clip, which ends with the phrases “enough is enough” and “join the fight against Antisemitism”.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Johannson said she has “no tolerance for hate speech” but warned that “hate speech multiplied by AI is far greater than any one person who takes accountability for it”.
She added: “I have unfortunately been a very public victim of AI. We must call out the misuse of AI, no matter its messaging, or we risk losing a hold on reality.”
The video was created by Guy Bar and Ori Bejerano, Digital Marketers for the Israel-based creative agency Gitmo BBDO, and takes aim at West, legally known as Ye, who referred to himself as a Nazi and praised Adolf Hitler on X before closing his account.
He also advertised his Yeezy.com website during the Super Bowl which subsequently featured one item, a t-shirt with a swastika on it.
On Wednesday, Fox Television Stations CEO, Jack Abernethy, condemned the ad in a note to staff and also described how the website’s content was switched from a “legitimate apparel site” after the ad aired.
US snub AI pledge
In her statement, Johansson denounced the US government for being “paralysed” when it comes to passing legislation that “protects all of its citizens against the imminent dangers of AI”.
“I urge 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,” implored the Black Widow actress.
Johansson’s pleas come as the future of AI is being debated at the AI Action Summit in Paris.
Countries such as France, China and India, among others, have signed an international agreement on AI promising to ensure the technology is “open, inclusive and transparent”.
However, notably, both the UK and the US failed to sign the agreement. According to Politico, the Donald Trump administration has expressed concerns over language calling for “inclusive and sustainable AI”.
The US was represented at the summit by Vice President JD Vance who warned delegates that overregulation of AI “could kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off”.
Delivering a keynote speech, he said: “At this moment, we face the extraordinary prospect of a new industrial revolution, one on par with the invention of the steam engine.
“But it will never come to pass if overregulation deters innovators from taking the risks necessary to advance the ball.”
During his first days in office, Trump also revoked previous President Joe Biden’s AI safety guidelines, removing the guardrails surrounding the development of AI which had previously required developers to share safety test results and consider guidelines to help identify and correct flaws in models.
