‘Prometheus’ Actor Warns Against AI Avatars After He Says Face Used For Venezuelan Propaganda

> Dewhirst said he signed a contract in 2021 with tech company Synthesia to become one of the first actors whose likeness would be made into an AI avatar. He auditioned for the avatar part and got it but became suspicious about the wide-ranging clauses in the contract, so he contacted his agent and Equity. Concerns were echoed and Dewhirst said he and his lawyers tried to get the contract changed yet failed, but he was showed the booking confirmation which included stipulations that the avatar can’t be used for illegal or unsavoury purposes, he said.

> However, two years later he was sent a link to a fake CNN report that he said showed him posing as a TV news anchor spreading fake news pushed by the government of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro. His avatar tells viewers that the economy is doing well, among a string of other inaccurate and contested narratives, he said.

> “I couldn’t believe it” said Dewhirst. “My stomach dropped. Everything I was worried about has happened but a thousand times worse. I’m literally the face of fake news.”