Robin Williams’ daughter hits out at AI-generated videos of the late actor

The daughter of the late actor and comedian Robin Williams has spoken out against artificial intelligence (AI) content featuring her father, calling the posts “disgusting” and not something her father would have wanted.

Zelda Williams, an actor and filmmaker best known for directing the horror-comedy Lisa Frankenstein, addressed AI recreations of her late father in a series of Instagram stories on Monday.

“Please, just stop sending me AI videos of Dad. Stop believing I wanna see it or that I’ll understand, I don’t and I won’t,” Ms Williams wrote.

“If you’re just trying to troll me, I’ve seen way worse, I’ll restrict and move on. But please, if you’ve got any decency, just stop doing this to him and to me, to everyone even, full stop. It’s dumb, it’s a waste of time and energy, and believe me, it’s NOT what he’d want,” Ms Williams’ post continued, according to screenshots shared by Hollywood publication Variety.

She condemned the practice of digitally “puppeteering” deceased individuals, stating that seeing AI videos of her father and other dead individuals is “maddening”.

“You’re not making art, you’re making disgusting, over-processed hotdogs out of the lives of human beings, out of the history of art and music, and then shoving them down someone else’s throat hoping they’ll give you a little thumbs up and like it. Gross.”

“And for the love of EVERYTHING, stop calling it ‘the future,’ AI is just badly recycling and regurgitating the past to be re-consumed. You are taking in the Human Centipede of content, and from the very very end of the line, all while the folks at the front laugh and laugh, consume and consume.”

The proliferation of AI-generated videos of individuals – also known as deepfakes – has been driven by the recent growth of free-to-use generative AI apps.

Ms Williams previously criticised AI recreations of her father during the 2023 Hollywood actors’ strike, in which she supported the Writers Guild of America (WGA) in its fight to regulate the use of AI in the industry.

“I’ve witnessed for YEARS how many people want to train these models to create/recreate actors who cannot consent, like Dad. This isn’t theoretical, it is very very real,” Ms Williams told her social media following at the time.

Williams, who won an Oscar for his supporting role in Good Will Hunting, is best known for his roles in Mrs Doubtfire and Dead Poets Society, died by suicide in 2014 at the age of 63.

Ms Williams’ latest comments come amid ongoing backlash to a newly launched AI talent studio, which has created what it is calling the first AI-generated actress. Eline Van der Velden, who is credited with creating Tilly Norwood, has said she wants her creation to become the “next Scarlett Johansson” and was looking to get representation for Tilly.