Mark Wahlberg on using AI in film ‘the right way’ and being open to an AI clone carrying on his legacy
Mark Wahlberg is open to an AI clone carrying on his legacy, which tells you more about the business of film than about the technology. The "enhance what you're doing" line sounds reasonable, but a legacy clone is a different category. One is a tool in the edit bay. The other is a simulacrum of a person, sold as entertainment and marketed as a continuation of a brand.
What interests me here is that Wahlberg is an angel investor as well as an actor. He's not just a star being dragged into this; he has a commercial stake in how entertainment companies value likeness and voice. And from an investor's view, the AI clone is an asset. It keeps earning after the human stops, which is exactly what a rights holder wants. The question is who controls that asset, what the estate gets, and how much of the actor's actual aesthetic survives the pressure to optimize for algorithms.
I'm not against the idea on principle. I'd want to see the contract details first. Does the clone get final say on scripts, or does it just sign what a producer files? Those answers will determine whether this is enhancement or quietly a replacement dressed up as a tribute. For now, I'd treat the "right way" language as marketing until I see the fine print.