--- title: "Human Models Horrified to Discover Their Faces Are Being Used for AI Propaganda" description: "Human models were paid for their likenesses to train AI. Now, to those humans' horror, their faces are being used to peddle propaganda." date: "2024-10-18" modified: "2024-10-18" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/human-models-ai-propaganda" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "ai-generated content" - "propaganda" - "the digest" --- # Human Models Horrified to Discover Their Faces Are Being Used for AI Propaganda ![Human models were paid for their likenesses to train AI. Now, to those humans' horror, their faces are being used to peddle propaganda.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Bad Surprises Synthesia, a text-to-video AI company with a [valuation]() of over one billion dollars, [claims]() that its tech allows users to "create studio-quality videos with AI avatars" as easily as they can throw together a slide deck. The company's clientele is a wild mix, ranging from media stalwarts like *Reuters* and global accounting giant Ernst & Young to authoritarian regimes — a reality that's come as a terrible surprise to the human models whose faces Synthesia's AI models are trained on. As [*The Guardian* reports](), several human models who posed for Synthesia have been horrified to discover that their likenesses have been used in AI-powered propaganda clips generated by groups linked to authoritarian states like China, Russia, and Venezuela. "I'm in shock, there are no words right now," Mark Torres, a creative director based in London who modeled for Synthesia, told *The Guardian* after viewing one of the clips for the first time. "I've been in the \[creative\] industry for over 20 years and I have never felt so violated and vulnerable. I don't want anyone viewing me like that." "Just the fact that my image is out there, could be saying anything – promoting military rule in a country I did not know existed," Torres added. "People will think I am involved in the coup." ## Fine Print It's a particularly hot-button topic with California [passing two new bills]() last month making it illegal to use an AI-generated digital replica of an actor's likeness or voice without their explicit consent. The use of generative AI played a major part in last year's Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America strike, with performers [eventually reaching an agreement](), including new rules surrounding the use of AI. Synthesia's clients, however, were seemingly roped into a good deal, being offered thousands of dollars for a single day of filming. Actor and one-time Synthesia model Dan Dewhirst, whose likeness was [discovered last year by *Semafor*]() being used in AI-generated Venezuelan propaganda, told *The* *Guardian* that he continues to worry about the AI videos' potential impact on his career. "I may have lost clients," Dewhirst told *The* *Guardian*, adding that when he found out about the clips, he "was furious." "It was really, really damaging to my mental health," he continued. Synthesia, for its part, has maintained that it's protected by the fine print, with a spokesperson telling *The* *Guardian* that the company explains its "terms of service and how our technology works so they are aware of what the platform can do and the safeguards we have in place" at the start of its "collaboration" with actors and models. "Though our processes and systems may not be perfect," the spokesperson added, "our founders are committed to continually improving them." **More on AI and propaganda:** [*ISIS Affiliates Using AI to Generate Propaganda Promoting Terrorism*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()