SKF Uses AI to Recreate Greta Garbo for Advertisement
Industrial manufacturer SKF has employed AI to generate an advertisement featuring the likeness of deceased Hollywood star Greta Garbo. The campaign has sparked public discussion about the technology's capabilities.
Swedish industrial firm SKF has utilized artificial intelligence (AI) to produce an advertisement that recreates the image of the late Hollywood actress Greta Garbo. The AI-generated Garbo character speaks in the commercial, which has garnered both praise and criticism.
The advertisement highlights the rapidly advancing capabilities of AI in media production, extending from scriptwriting and animation to voice synthesis. Garbo, who passed away in 1990, had retired from public life decades earlier. SKF stated that the Garbo likeness was not created using archived photos or footage, but was generated via text prompts due to copyright considerations.
SKF stated that AI was used to train the voice based on original audio from a short film Garbo appeared in during 1941 to promote Swedish industry abroad, with SKF being one of the featured companies. The company emphasized that the production was handled respectfully and with permission from Garbo's estate.
AI consultants refer to this trend as "synthetic resurrection," noting that AI significantly enhances capabilities previously limited. However, the advertisement has faced criticism, with some reviewers awarding it low ratings and citing it as a reason to dislike AI. Living actors have also expressed concerns about the potential for their image and voice to be used posthumously without consent.