EXCLUSIVE: A platform for actors that aims to “protect and monetise human identity in the age of artificial intelligence” launches officially today, but many in the UK film and TV industry have been debating the merits of Twinnin for weeks.
Backed by Google and Nvidia, Twinnin clones an actors face, creating an “identity record” secured with what it terms “immutable provenance technology.” That likeness can then be sold on to studios or brands for use in shows, movies or ads. The platform is run by AI Kat, a technology company backed by VC funding from Google and Nvidia, both of which Twinnin founder Katrien Grobler tells us approve and have signed off on Twinnin. Actors can sign up for $14.99 per year to post their digital likeness on the app and receive callouts. Studios or brands can subscribe to a number of different tiers, with the enterprise tier, which Grobler says meets industry standard in terms of AI guardrails, costing $1,200 per month. The cheapest, the creator tier, is $499 per month.
Far from preventing actors from getting work, Grobler’s feeling is that Twinnin, which she says “bridges the gap between AI and human,” is embracing the future now by protecting them today.
“We are allowing you to own your identity in the age of AI,” she told us prior to launch. “The rules of engagement have changed and as they change humans need to be more assertive about their likeness because in the age of the internet, we have been giving it away for free.”
Grobler added that, “in a court of law, Twinninn proves that you have licensed your face and it belongs to you.”
Grobler has spent the past year or so working on digital twins and she tells us she had her Twinnin lightbulb moment over Christmas. It has taken her and the AI Kat team just three months to get from lightbulb to launch. “Like Uber and Spotify, I think this is something that people didn’t know until they needed it,” she added. “We are getting ahead of the curve. Everyone has ethics until their P&L [profit and loss] is affected. So I thought we should create a platform where applicants can license their face in an ethical, consensual way.
Critics and fans
Word about Twinnin spread in the weeks leading up to launch. Unsurprisingly, when actors, agents, producers and union officials got wind of the soon-to-launch app, it became a hot-button issue.
That conversation was buttressed by one agency, Lacara, promoting Twinnin to clients including the parents of actors under the age of 18.
“We believe if AI is going to use human likeness — it should be real humans, properly protected and compensated, not synthetic AI bots,” said a note from Lacara to some of its clients on the Spotlight casting platform, seen by Deadline. “Sign up the whole family and earn whilst protecting your likeness.”
Deadline can reveal that some actors complained about receiving this promotion and Spotlight subsequently issued a disclaimer to its subscribers, “urging all members to exercise extreme caution before uploading data or likenesses to any third-party platforms.” “While we’re always keeping an eye on new tech, Spotlight has not partnered with or vetted Twinnin or any other third-party AI likeness services,” read the note, which we have also viewed.
When contacted by Deadline, Lacara boss Anya Taylor stressed that her agency is “not in partnership with Twinnin” but is “simply offering it as an optional platform.” “There is absolutely no requirement for any client to sign up, and it is not a condition of representation,” she said. “We believe it is better to engage with these coming AI changes responsibly rather than ignore them. By doing so, we aim to help safeguard real people within the industry, ensuring they remain part of its future rather than being replaced.”
What really set alarm bells ringing was that Lacara mostly works with child actors.
The Agents of Young Performers Association, a group of child actor agencies whose members have repped the likes of Adolescence star Owen Cooper, said cloning an under-18s likeness “raises serious ethical questions around the consent of a minor” while “presenting potential safeguarding risks, including the misuse, manipulation, or unauthorised replication of a young person’s likeness now and in the future.”
“There is also the question of licensing and compliance with legislation protecting children at work,” added an AYPA statement. “We believe addressing these concerns is essential to protect young performers within our industry. Given these concerns, we would urge parents to not sign their children up to participate in such initiatives at this time.”
Twinnin founder Grobler said the platform has “very clear guardrails” for child actors and only those who sign up for the most expensive enterprise tier will have access to under 18s. “I will personally have a Zoom call with anyone who wants to upload a minor’s likeness,” she added. “Nothing around children will be automated and we will never show a child on our platform, only avatars.”
It remains to be seen whether Grobler can convince the naysayers. Her app launches with AI one of the biggest industry talking points of a generation, with AI actors like Tilly Norwood and her “Tillyverse” claiming plenty of column inches. More than two years after SAG-AFTRA secured landmark AI guardrails in the States, UK actors union Equity has still not struck a deal with producer trade body Pact. The union most recently balloted members over whether they would be prepared to refuse digital scanning on set to secure adequate AI protections.
On Twinnin, Equity was nuanced, using the opportunity to instead criticize the pace of government reform as it said it continues to work towards “introducing new personality rights to give performers a clear route to protect their likeness.”
“While governments and producers stall, it is interesting to see companies emerging to meet the demand for protection, rights, transparency and consent for online use,” a spokeswoman said of Twinnin.
More of Twinnin’s ilk are springing up, Equity added.
The artificial intelligence goalposts appear to be moving once again.
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