Avengers Director Faces Criticism Over AI-Generated ‘Sexual Fantasy’ Comments

[ad_1]

Credit: Marvel Studios/Disney

The Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of Kevin Feige-led Marvel Studios was a game-changer for the superhero movie genre and the film industry in general. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has grown massive in recent years, with the MCU’s dramatic end to Marvel Studios Phase Three, Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, collectively known as the Russo Brothers, concluding the popular Infinity Saga.

Credit: Marvel Studios

The Avengers franchise, which began with Joss Whedon’s 2012 film The Avengers, with an all-star cast including Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man/Tony Stark), Chris Evans (Captain America/Steve Rogers), Chris Hemsworth ( Thor Odinson), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton/Hawkeye), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk), Tom Hiddleston (Loki Laufeyson/Loki Odinson) and Samuel L. Jackson ( Nick Fury), marked the beginning of a new era. This film virtually transformed the film industry by setting a new standard for integrating multiple films into the same “cinematic universe”.

Credit: Marvel Studios

Now, one of the much-loved Russo Bros is causing quite a bit of controversy online with its comments regarding artificial intelligence (AI) and its use in the entertainment generation in the near future.

Joe Russo’s comments on AI and why it’s being criticizedCredit: Marvel Studios

The following discussion includes language and topics that are not suitable for young readers.

The general public has a bone to pick with Joe Russo’s comments in a recent Collider interview, particularly his statements about using AI to “build the narrative” in movies – especially “rom-coms”. using images of deepfake actresses – in what is strongly implied to be the fulfillment of a sexual or romantic fantasy.

YouTuber and commentator Jenny Nicholson raised a point about the famed director immediately jumping to comment that AI would be used to “deepfake real women porn,” calling out the creator for actually taking a “shortcut” directly to the subject, “like it was a good thing”:

I feel like if I had thought about the darker implications of this technology for a minute I would have finally arrived at deepfake porn of real women, but he actually took a shortcut to this and said it like if it was a good thing, like it was the original pitch

I feel like if I had thought about the darker implications of this technology for a minute I would have finally arrived at deepfake porn of real women, but he actually took a shortcut to this and said it like if that’s a good thing like that’s the original pitch https://t.co/m3VfRS4yBj

— Jenny Nicholson (@JennyENicholson) April 24, 2023

The tweet in question exploded with an estimated 11.3k likes (at the time of writing) and saw a barrage of equally uneasy users in replies.

Many criticized Russo’s choice to name famous old Hollywood star and sex symbol Marilyn Monroe, with Nick Ostrem tweeting:

He had to choose a dead woman because if he had said someone who is alive it would have made the situation even worse, although that is inevitably the end point here

He had to choose a dead woman because if he had said someone who is alive it would have made the situation even worse, although that is inevitably the end point here

— Nick Ostrem (@nickostrem) April 24, 2023

Others, like @MackJ, have criticized that Russo’s “ideal use case” for procedurally-generated AI entertainment is a “mentally dangerous photo-realistic fantasy wish-granting machine”, a bit like a Star Trek Holodeck:

Joe Russo’s ideal use case for AI is an ever-evolving photo-realistic fantasy wish-granting machine. Yeah that sounds good, I don’t see how it could be dangerous to anyone’s mental health.

(continued) Joe Russo’s idea is basically every episode of Star Trek about someone losing their minds on the Holodeck.

Joe Russo’s idea is basically every episode of Star Trek about someone losing their minds on the Holodeck.

— MackJ is a rock, an island (@MackJ) April 24, 2023

[ad_2]