Dylan Horetski
Tech YouTuber Marques ‘MKBHD’ Brownlee has taken to Twitter to denounce an AI chatbot as “trash” for unauthorized use of his name.
The year 2023 marked the rise of AI chatbots dominating the industry, with Meta AI leading the trend by incorporating the images of renowned celebrities and influencers. However, they are not the sole participants in this practice.
Boasting an impressive following of over 18 million subscribers on YouTube and a substantial presence on various social media platforms, Marques Brownlee’s popularity makes him a desirable choice for companies seeking to leverage his image in their offerings.
On February 14, 2024, MKBHD vented his frustration on Twitter regarding a “trash” chatbot that had inappropriately utilized his likeness without seeking consent.
MKBHD’s Critique of the “Trash” AI Chatbot
In his tweet, Marques posted a screenshot exposing the AI chatbot’s misuse of his image and cautioned his followers about its dubious nature.
He expressed, “There’s a random AI company parading around an AI chatbot to ‘chat with a YouTuber’ and it’s so incredibly bad. Just spews lies. They also never got permission to use my likeness, and I suspect several others on this list were never even asked. Avoid this TRASH.”
The screenshots reveal Marques questioning the bot about obtaining permission to use his likeness and confirming if it represented the real Marques Brownlee, to which the bot falsely affirmed both queries.
Marques further elaborated on his dissatisfaction with the chatbot in subsequent replies, clarifying that his concern lies not in companies training AI on his videos but in the unauthorized use of his image.
“It’s not actually training the AI on my videos that I take issue with; it’s using my likeness without permission (that’s why Meta had to use codenames),” he emphasized.
Additional Insights:
In a separate interaction, he expressed tolerance for companies leveraging his likeness as long as they refrain from using his actual name for promotional purposes. He cited Meta AI’s chatbot, which features MrBeast’s image but adopts the names Zach and “The Funny Man” for identification.
The chatbot not only includes MKBHD but also other prominent YouTubers such as Cody Ko, MrBeast, Lex Friedman, and Faze Rug among its available options.
As of the latest update, it remains unclear whether Marques intends to pursue legal action against the offending chatbot. Any developments on his course of action will be promptly shared.
