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FKA twigs has a lot happening at the moment: A new album on the way, a lead role in the remake of The Crow, the recently-released Two Shell collaboration “Talk To Me.” She’s so busy, in fact, that she’s apparently farming out her social-media interactions to a deepfake AI version of herself. That’s what twigs is scheduled to tell a Senate subcommittee in her testimony about AI regulation today.
Today, as Rolling Stone reports, FKA twigs will testify before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property. She’ll tell them all about her efforts to develop an AI version of herself: “In the past year, I have developed my own deepfake version of myself that is not only trained in my personality but also can use my exact tone of voice to speak many languages.” She says that it will “extend my reach and handle my online social media interactions, whilst I continue to focus on my art from the comfort and solace of my studio.”
The Senate subcommittee is considering the NO FAKES act, a bill that will protect artists and actors against unauthorized AI versions of their faces, voices, and likenesses. In her testimony, twigs talks about her own effort to develop a deepfake version of herself, describing it as a helpful tool for artists. But she also wants to establish the importance of making sure that AI can only work if it’s under the control of an artist like herself.
Here’s the written statement that twigs will deliver, via MusicAlly:
I am here because my music, my dancing, my acting, the way that my body moves in front of a camera, and the way that my voice resonates through a microphone is not by chance; they are essential reflections of who I am.
My art is the canvas on which I paint my identity and the sustaining foundation of my livelihood. It is the essence of my being. Yet this is under threat.
AI cannot replicate the depth of my life journey, yet those who control it hold the power to mimic the likeness of my art, to replicate it and falsely claim my identity and intellectual property.
This prospect threatens to rewrite and unravel the fabric of my very existence. We must enact regulation now to safeguard our authenticity and protect against misappropriation of our inalienable rights…
In the past year, I have developed my own deepfake version of myself that is not only trained in my personality but also can use my exact tone of voice to speak many languages.
I will be engaging my AI twigs later this year to extend my reach and handle my online social media interactions, whilst I continue to focus on my art from the comfort and solace of my studio.
These and similar emerging technologies are highly valuable tools both artistically and commercially when under the control of the artist.
What is not acceptable is when my art and my identity can simply be taken by a third party and exploited falsely for their own gain without my consent due to the absence of appropriate legislative control.
This morning, twigs will give that testimony alongside a similar one from Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl, her label boss.
In other FKA twigs news, Hypebeast reports that she’s the new face and Creative Partner of On, a performance wear brand. She’ll also redesign On’s Cloudlift sneaker.
Earlier this month, twigs, a dancer before she became a recording artist, made her debut with the historic Martha Graham Dance Company, performing the 1932 solo “Satyric Festival Song” with the company. The New York Times published a feature about twigs’ preparations for the production, and you can watch her performance in the second slide below.