Bérénice Bejo, Léa Drucker and Swann Arlaud Among 4,000 French Actors Slamming AI as a ‘Devouring Hydra’ Engaged in ‘Organized Plundering’

Berenice Bejo, the Oscar-nominated of “The Artist,” Swan Arlaud (“Anatomy of a Fall”) and Lea Drucker (“Case 137”) are among the 4,000 French actors who have signed a vitriolic open letter denouncing what they describe as as an “organized plundering” of AI tools and are calling for urgent political action.

Backed by Adami, the collective management organization for performers’ rights, the petition states that the industry has already been struggling with unauthorized voice cloning, image scraping and undervalued AI licensing deals for some time.

“This tool, extraordinarily valuable for certain professions, is also a devouring hydra for the artists that we are,” says the letter. The signatories also pointing out that this “systematic plundering is not a fantasy — it is happening here and now;” citing a recent anecdote of an actor who was recently offered just €250 to authorize the use of his image by AI for a new advertising campaign for a major French company,…