According to Sean Penn, he believes that threatening studio executives by manipulating images of their daughters using AI could put an end to the SAG-AFTRA strike in Hollywood. The strike has caused a standstill in the industry. In an interview with Variety, the outspoken actor expressed his conviction that this “indecent proposal” would force Hollywood power-players to abandon their resistance to agreeing on terms regarding the use of AI with actors and writers on the picket line.
Sean Penn stated, “I’ll go in with a camera crew to a room with studio heads and say, ‘So you want my scans and voice data and all that? Okay, here’s what I think is fair: I want your daughter’s, because I want to create a virtual replica of her and invite my friends over to do whatever we want in a virtual party right now. Would you please look at the camera and tell me you think that’s cool?'” He further expressed his belief that it is not about business, but rather an indecent proposal, and that it is insulting that they would engage in such actions without facing consequences. He sees it as a moral issue.
Despite his success in winning two best actor Oscars, Sean Penn has been more focused on investigative journalism, documentary making, and writing in recent years. However, he has started to make a comeback in acting, appearing in small roles such as in ‘Licorice Pizza’ in 2021, as well as receiving praise for his performance in ‘Daddio’ this year. In 2018, he expressed his diminishing passion for acting, stating, “I’m not in love with that anymore.” In the same year, he published a satirical novel called ‘Bob Honey who Just do Stuff’ which received mixed reviews from critics.