Someone Is Lying Through Tom Hanks’ Teeth: The Actor Says He Has “Nothing To Do With” Fake AI Dental Insurance Video

By Alex Vena
Published Oct. 2, 2023, 10:35 a.m. ET

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If you’ve recently seen a video of Tom Hanks encouraging you to go to the dentist, just know that someone was lying through their teeth (and through his!).

It turns out the A Man Called Otto star’s likeness was being used in a video promoting dental insurance, and once he got word, he put a stop to it.

“BEWARE!!” Hanks warned fans in an Instagram post on Sunday (Oct. 1). “There’s a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me. I have nothing to do with it.”

This is not the first time that Hanks has been the victim of an artificial intelligence-induced hoax. In June, his image was used in a fake, racist movie poster promoting an alleged biopic on Martin Luther King Jr., where he would be “playing” the lead role of the famous civil rights activist.

According to Variety, the two time Academy Award-winning actor has opened up about the use of AI in the entertainment industry, explaining on The Adam Buxton Podcast in April that “performances can go on and on and on and on” long after an actor’s death.

“Anybody can now recreate themselves at any age they are by way of AI or deep fake technology,” he said at the time.

“Outside the understanding of AI and deepfake, there’ll be nothing to tell you that it’s not me and me alone,” he continued. “And it’s going to have some degree of lifelike quality. That’s certainly an artistic challenge but it’s also a legal one.”

Despite these concerns, Hanks has taken part in films using similar technologies, such as when he was “de-aged” in A Man Called Otto, per The Guardian.

In the wake of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, and the WGA strike which ended last Wednesday (Sept. 27) — both of which fought for AI protections — the use of AI has seemingly never been so prominent in the entertainment industry. According to an official update from SAG-AFTRA, the union is set to meet with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) today to begin bargaining.

“We urge you to continue coming out to the picket lines in strength and big numbers every day!” they continued in their update shared on Wednesday. “One Day Longer. One Day Stronger.”