Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
As we get deeper into the AI and Chatbot trend, we are seeing a new kind of Wild West of what people will do with it, good intentions or not. Such is the case with a recent issue regarding the deceased John Bain, better known as TotalBiscuit. His surviving wife, Genna Bain says she may have to wipe the internet of media with his presence because AI programmers are using his voice to train AI to push unapproved causes without consent of the family.
Controversial at times, Bain was undoubtedly one of the best-known faces of YouTube and gaming up until his unfortunate passing in 2018 from colorectal cancer. However, his name still has a lot of clout behind it with many of his videos featuring other major faces in the gaming space such as The Jimquisition's Stephanie Sterling or inXile Entertainment's Brian Fargo. That content may end up wiped out, as shared by Genna Bain on her personal twitter regarding her issues with AI and its use of media featuring TotalBiscuit.
“Being faced with making a choice of scrubbing all of my late husband’s lifetime of content from the internet,” Genna wrote. “Apparently people think it’s okay to use his library to train voice AIs to promote their social commentary and political views.”
Bain’s tweet would suggest that she or the Bain estate became aware of certain entities utilizing TotalBiscuit media content, whether on YouTube or elsewhere, to train AI to mimic his voice and deliver either advertisement or political takes in his stead, pushing her to consider scrubbing his channel and media related to him. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen new technology and trends used in a highly controversial manner. During the NFT craze, some may recall when an NFT creator minted and sold NFTs of deceased YouTuber Desmond 'Etika' Amofah.
With the AI trend coming into prominence, there’s even more potential for shady or even illegal dealings as Genna Bain has pointed out. In more harmless instances, we’ve seen a large wave of memes that feature AI facsimiles of Donald Trump and Joe Biden bickering over common gaming arguments, as seen in Evening Reading.
In recent major tech news, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has called AI an inflection point in tech, and is enthusiastic about its future and applications. Meanwhile, Elon Musk has called it dangerous technology, and called for better regulatory oversight into AI’s uses and applications.
The use of TotalBiscuit’s likeness in AI for promotion or political use is arguably a good representation of the dangers Elon Musk suggested AI poses. It's unlikely that this is the last case we’ll see like it, so stay tuned as we continue to watch for further news on AI or updates to this story.