Don’t let the fact that Iron Man created one of the most notable artificial intelligence systems in fiction (J.A.R.V.I.S.) fool you; in real life, Robert Downey Jr. has become something of an avenger himself in the fight against AI. This week, he specifically took on the controversial AI revivifications of late actors that have unfortunately become something of a trend this year—the most notable example being Alien: Romulus‘ deepfake of Ian Holm.
While the actor may be returning to the MCU as Dr. Doom, you’ll never see him back in front of that blue screen if he’s not the one wearing the suit—at least if he has anything to say about it. “I would like to here state that I intend to sue all future executives just on spec,” Downey said on a recent episode of the On With Kara Swisher podcast (via Variety) when the host suggested that some of those executives may want to recreate his likeness in the future. When Swisher responded that the instigating factor would most likely be Downey’s death, he responded, “But my law firm will still be very active.”
This is really a problem for the Downey estate’s future attorney, though. Current-day Downey is just kind of chilling. “How do I feel about everything that’s going on? I feel about it minimally because I have an actual emotional life that’s occurring that doesn’t have a lot of room for that,” Downey said when asked about his anxiety over the possibility. “To go back to the MCU, I am not worried about them hijacking my character’s soul because there’s like three or four guys and gals who make all the decisions there anyway and they would never do that to me, with or without me.”
That doesn’t mean he’s checked out of the debate completely, however. In fact, the actor is currently making his Broadway debut in McNeal, a play about an esteemed author who turns to a chatbot to write his autobiographical novel. “Doing a play that addresses this, I think that’s how we wrest back something like control—control is the wrong word—but something like comfort,” the actor recently told The New York Times. “This is simply an information age phenomenon, which will be reckoned with one way or another.”
English (US) ·