Photo Credit: Andreas Meixensperger / CC by 2.0
FKA twigs has been advocating for regulated AI ahead of her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee this week. As the bipartisan NO FAKES Act gets deliberated by members of Congress, the artist revealed that she has developed her own deepfake AI.
On Tuesday, April 30, the 36-year-old artist’s letter urged the Senate to protect Americans from non-consensual deepfakes, detailing how dangerous it would be for someone else to control her likeness. She also revealed her development of her own deepfake AI, “AI twigs,” which she’ll be using this year to “extend [her] reach” and handle her social media interactions while she continues to “focus on my art from the comfort and solace of my studio.”
“My art is the canvas on which I paint my identity and the sustaining foundation of my livelihood,” wrote twigs. “It is the essence of my being. Yet this is under threat.”
“AI cannot replicate the depth of my life journey, yet those who control it hold the power to mimic the likeness of my art, to replicate it and falsely claim my identity and intellectual property,” she continued. “This prospect threatens to rewrite and unravel the fabric of my very existence. We must enact regulation now to safeguard our authenticity and protect against misappropriation of our inalienable rights.”
Still, twigs sees an exciting future in AI, explaining the work she’s done over the past year to develop her own deepfake — “AI twigs.”
“In the past year, I have developed my own deepfake version of myself that is not only trained in my personality but also can use my exact tone of voice to speak many languages. I will be engaging my AI twigs later this year to extend my reach and handle my online social media interactions,” said twigs. “These and similar emerging technologies are highly valuable tools both artistically and commercially when under the control of the artist.”
“What is not acceptable is when my art and my identity can simply be taken by a third party and exploited falsley for their own gain without my consent due to the absence of appropriate legislative control,” she added. “History has shown us time again that in moments of great technological advancement, those in the arts have always been the first to have their work exploited, and in many instances, fraudulently commoditized.”
Without proper legislation, the next group to be exploited en masse, says twigs, will be the “vulnerable public.”
“By protecting artists with legislation at such a momentous moment in our history, we are protecting a five-year-old child in the future from having their voice, likeness, and identity taken and used as a commodity without prior consent, attribution, or compensation,” explained twigs. “I stand before you today because you have it in your power to help protect artists and their work from the dangers of exploitation and theft inherent in this technology if it remains unchecked.”