Ryan Reynolds Shills for Tesla in a Creepy Deepfake Ad

The ongoing strike over WGA members being denied proper compensation for their work, particularly in today’s streaming environment, just got a little more ammunition in the form of a terrible deepfake AI ad posted yesterday on Twitter. Canada’s sweetheart and perennial Dustin Rowles man-crush Ryan Reynolds became an involuntary spokesman for Tesla after his face and Deadpool dialogue was stolen to create the car company’s first commercial. It isn’t good.

Introducing, @Tesla's first ad, featuring @VancityReynolds

(and thanks to @elonmusk $TSLA). pic.twitter.com/GVI708Enaf

— Meet Kevin (@realMeetKevin) May 17, 2023

A couple of things spring to mind. First, I’ll take a Corolla over a Tesla any day of the week. One has decades of development and remains one of the more reliable vehicles on the road; the other randomly bursts into flames and crashes into stationary vehicles. Second, I hope Ryan Reynolds sues the shit out of Musk superfan “Meet Kevin.” It seems unlikely, though, given how he responded.

Two can court disaster with this game! pic.twitter.com/0Hp43XU1wR

— Maximum Effort (@MaximumEffort) May 18, 2023

At least his riposte is as truly awful as the original. But it reinforces the problem with deepfakes that Jen and Petr have raised before — namely, that anyone can make them with minimal computer skills. Add in AI writing the dialogue, such as it is, and pretty soon entire shows and movies will be created without the input of a single talented person, like an artificial Uwe Boll feature. Is it hyperbole to worry that one day soon failed screenwriter Ben Shapiro will inflict his version of Star Wars upon us, with deepfake Gina Carano clones playing every role? Maybe. But it’s not a risk I’m willing to take.

More seriously, this is a genuine problem. The WGA is striking and SAG-AFTRA is voting on a measure to do the same because of issues like this. It’s not only about adequate compensation. It’s about having your words and likeness mined by talentless hacks to artificially create content in an environment that already devalues all but the biggest names in Hollywood. It makes it effortless to put celebrities’ names to political causes. Republicans already use Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” all the time for political rallies without permission or a shred of self-awareness. They won’t hesitate to use a celebrity’s likeness if they think the exposure is worth the threat of a lawsuit. It’s not great. Between fake ads and studios’ insistence on making AI part of the creative process and screwing over writers in the process, the future of entertainment looks a bit grim if the WGA’s concerns aren’t addressed.