‘And so it starts’: AI takeover begins as influencer’s likeness is used without her permission for erectile dysfunction ad

All our fears about AI and its potential misuse are slowly turning into reality, and no amount of “I told you so” or “this could’ve been prevented” will turn back the clock now.

Imagine a world where everyone could fake just about anything to get what they want. A world where your likeness could be exploited for others’ benefit, and a world where photographic evidence is a thing to be laughed at. Then realize, quite frighteningly, that you don’t actually need to imagine this dystopia, because we’re living it right now.

The latest victim of general-purpose artificial intelligence mishap is a TikTok influencer whose likeness was recently used, without her permission or knowledge — for an erectile dysfunction product ad. Michel Janse took to her page to reveal that the perpetrators used footage from one of her more “vulnerable” clips on the social media platform to create this ad. You should watch her account of the story for yourself below, because the AI part is quite eerie.

And the craziest thing about this whole situation? This is general-purpose AI in its infancy. Give it a few years, and the stuff people are going to come up with will be even more indiscernible.

Some people astutely suggested that Michel should sue — not just for her sake, but for everyone else’s as well. “Get a lawyer, set a precedent that establishes protections for everyone else in the future,” wrote MikeTheHamMan. “I’m terribly sorry this happened to you.”

Someone else joked, “When I say and do embarrassing things I’m just going to say it was an AI deepfake.” Come to think of it, I might actually use that too.

You get the gist. The sheer number of things people could get away with or fake… it’s not a pretty picture, folks. All of those sci-fi stories we’ve read in books or watched in movies might happen in reality if there aren’t any strict regulations on the advancement of AI. Already, there are AI tools you can download and use offline to make videos and photos of celebrities. And we all know, it won’t just stop there. It never does.