Actress Sydney Sweeney has had a busy year with films like Madame Web, Anyone But You, and Immaculate released and gaining varying degrees of success. Sweeney made an appearance on Saturday Night Live and turned producer for the horror film Immaculate. She will be next seen in Ron Howard’s Eden.
Sweeney reportedly attended Samsung’s Unpacked event earlier this week where the tech giant used her likeness for an AI-generated avatar as part of their new tool. While the Euphoria star expressed her admiration for the art, fans noticed the quick cringe when she looked at it, making the event all the more uncomfortable.
Sydney Sweeney’s Reaction To AI Art Goes Viral
Sydney Sweeney in Immaculate | Credits: Neon
Sydney Sweeney has been associated with Samsung since last year, when she was featured in their ad for the tech giant’s Z Flip 5 phone and even attended last year’s Unpacked event. While last year’s event reportedly also had celebrities like the K-Pop star Wonyoung in attendance, this year it was only Sweeney who attended the event in person.
Sweeney was reportedly an inspiration for one of Samsung’s latest generative AI models. In a short, less-than-a-minute interaction, the company reportedly used the actress’ image to turn into an AI-generated avatar. When asked to react to the image, Sweeney seemed to have an awkward but positive response to the image (via CNET).
Sydney Sweeny for an ad for Samsung’s Z Flip 5 | Credits: YouTube/Samsung
Fans were quick to notice the slight cringe when the actress saw the image before quickly exclaiming that she loved it.
there’s just no way this should be legal
— harv (@harvv) July 10, 2024
she looks absolutely terrified 😭😂 it looks like she wants to run out of there
— LUCY🐰 (@lucyqrow) July 10, 2024
The awkward interaction has been making the rounds on the Internet, especially due to the polarizing opinions among the masses about generative AI.
Many Actors Have Expressed Their Fear Against AI
Nicolas Cage in The Flash | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures
Sydney Sweeney’s image used to generate AI art comes at a time when actors are being increasingly exposed to generative AI and manipulation of their features. The recent SAG-AFTRA strikes demanded protection from digital doubles and a lack of compensation when those doubles are used in media.
Many actors have expressed their frustration and confusion with AI and how it would enter Hollywood. Actors such as Emily Blunt have speculated the dangers of the technology and its impact on performers while Scarlett Johansson has gone to war against OpenAI for using her likeness in ChatGPT (via The Guardian).
Nicolas Cage expressed his fear about the technology in an interview with THR, where he mentioned that he was afraid that his body would be stolen. He said,
They have to put me in a computer and match my eye color and change — I don’t know. They’re just going to steal my body and do whatever they want with it via digital AI … God, I hope not AI. I’m terrified of that. I’ve been very vocal about it.
The actor had also previously mentioned that AI was a nightmare and that he wondered about where the artists’ truths would end up if the technology were to replicate their likeness.
