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Keanu Reeves disdains the artificial values of technology, expressing concerns about the younger generation growing up with such technologies.
Despite his face being digitally reconstructed for gaming, Keanu Reeves maintains a steadfast stance on keeping his facial features intact in movies.
During an interview with Wired magazine, Keanu Reeves openly expresses his disdain for deepfake technology. He even asserts that his contract includes a provision requiring studios not to modify his face using technology.
'I don't mind if someone removes a blink from me,' says Reeves. 'But in the early 2000s or the '90s, my acting was altered. They added a tear to my face [...] I'm like, you don't need me here to act, what's the point?'
'When you participate in acting, you know your character will be altered slightly, but you're directly involved in that,' Reeves adds. 'But if you delve into the realm of deepfake, then this character will have no perspective of yours. That's truly terrifying. Then see how we deal with these technologies. They're having a big impact on culture and society, and even the study of species. Currently, we have a lot of data on [creature] behavior.'
According to Keanu Reeves' recollection, a recent conversation with a 15-year-old boy revealed a frightening aspect of perception. Reeves narrated to the boy about Neo - the main character in the renowned Matrix series - and Neo's struggle with what is real. The 15-year-old boy sarcastically remarked: 'Who cares if it's real or not?'.
The boy's comment startled Keanu Reeves. '[The younger generation] is growing up with these tools: We're listening to AI-produced music in the style of Nirvana, and even NFT art pieces,' Reeves said. 'It's cool, like 'Look what these little machines can do!' But behind them are conglomerates always seeking control. Culturally and socially, we'll have to face the value of what's real and what's worthless'.
'We're kneeling, looking at the cave wall and only seeing the shadows reflected, and we don't have a chance to turn around and see what's behind us,” Reeves said, referring to Plato's allegory of the cave - where a group of people no longer distinguish reality from illusion, they think the shadows on the cave wall created by the fire are the reality they are living in.
The tech community has repeatedly raised concerns about the dangers of deepfake technology. But so far, we still do not possess an effective technology to detect deepfake products.
The dark side of technology, specifically artificial intelligence, is becoming increasingly apparent. Without proper preparation steps, we will soon live in a twisted world, uncertain of what is real and what is not.
