Zelda Williams posted a strong message on Instagram asking people to stop sending her AI-generated videos of her late father, Robin Williams. The director shared her thoughts on Monday, calling the social media trend disrespectful and upsetting. She made clear she has no interest in seeing these artificial recreations of her father.
Director Condemns AI Recreations
According to Rolling Stone, Williams wrote in her Instagram Story that people should stop creating and sharing these videos. She said the practice is not what her father would have wanted.
Williams called the videos gross and maddening. She wrote that watching real people’s legacies get reduced to content that vaguely looks and sounds like them is frustrating. She compared the process to making disgusting hotdogs out of human lives and art history.
The filmmaker also criticized how AI is marketed. She wrote that people should stop calling it the future. She said AI just badly recycles and regurgitates the past to be consumed again.
Ongoing Concerns About AI Use
Williams has spoken against using her father’s voice and image for AI before. In 2023, she raised concerns during the SAG-AFTRA strike. At that time, recreating a person’s image or voice without approval was a major issue for actors.
Strike-Era Warnings
She wrote in 2023 that she witnessed for years how many people wanted to train AI models to recreate actors who cannot consent. She specifically mentioned her father. Williams said the issue is not theoretical but very real.
Her recent Instagram Story expanded on these concerns. She told people that if they are trying to troll her, she will simply restrict them and move on. But she asked anyone with decency to stop doing this to her father, to her, and to everyone.
Williams wrote that the practice is dumb and a waste of time and energy. She emphasized again that it is not what Robin Williams would have wanted. The director’s message reflects growing concerns about AI-generated content using deceased celebrities without family consent.
