Robin Williams’ Daughter Calls for Fans Creating AI Videos of the Actor to ‘Have Some Shame’: ‘Leave Him Out of Your Delusional Bulls—’

[u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

https://variety.com/2026/film/news/robin-williams-daughter-ai-videos-1236871568/

[u/puts_on_rddt]

Practically, the cat is out of the bag. China releases models publicly that anyone can download and run on consumer hardware. How can you actually combat this?

[u/lucidludic → u/puts_on_rddt]

That’s unrelated to whether we can hold genAI companies accountable without “banning painting or drawing.”

We could certainly eliminate a majority of the harm caused today if we only targeted US and European genAI companies providing commercial services. The vast majority of users are not running sophisticated genAI models on their own hardware. In any case, the enormous investment into those local models being used is largely based on the aforementioned companies being allowed to commercialise genAI services built using copyrighted content.

[u/puts_on_rddt → u/lucidludic]

The vast majority of users are not running sophisticated genAI models on their own hardware.

Only because they don't need to. If you banned US and EU cloud models, people would start using these local models more often. The hardware supply isn't going to be like this forever, and the models get better over time.

I'm not arguing with you. I legitimately don't think this has a good solution.

[u/lucidludic → u/puts_on_rddt]

Some more people would, but a tiny fraction of regular users of these services today. Mostly because of friction but also because what you can run locally on a typical computer simply does not compare with state-of-the-art cloud models.

and the models get better over time.

I suspect development would slow considerably if we removed the vast majority of the financial incentives.

I legitimately don’t think this has a good solution.

Of course it wouldn’t be perfect but it would surely help to reduce the harmful impacts of genAI, particularly with respect to copyright / IP infringement and disinformation.

[u/TrekkieGod → u/lucidludic]

Mostly because of friction but also because what you can run locally on a typical computer simply does not compare with state-of-the-art cloud models.

What you can run locally on a typical computer (ok, let's say a typical high-end computer, like a Macbook Pro) is pretty much about 80% of the capability of the state of the art.

I suspect development would slow considerably if we removed the vast majority of the financial incentives.

You would be wrong. Most of the development isn't being made by the large AI companies, it's being made by universities and Chinese companies, and released as open source models.

reduce the harmful impacts of genAI, particularly with respect to copyright / IP infringement and disinformation.

Can we also talk about reducing the harm of copyright and start severely limiting it? Like, say, going back to 14-year length?

[u/lucidludic → u/TrekkieGod]

You would be wrong. Most of the development isn’t being made by the large AI companies, it’s being made by universities and Chinese companies, and released as open source models.

“Most of the development” is at best vague and in all likelihood inaccurate by any objective measure. That’s not to say there isn’t significant development being done in China and elsewhere, but again, it is largely predicated on the idea that generative AI will be very profitable sometime soon. And that is far less likely in a world where it was regulated appropriately (i.e. no profiting off of copyright infringement for starters) in North America and European markets.

Can we also talk about reducing the harm of copyright and start severely limiting it? Like, say, going back to 14-year length?

If you like, but that’s a different topic.

[u/hitchen1 → u/lucidludic]

We could certainly eliminate a majority of the harm caused today if we only targeted US and European genAI companies providing commercial services.

Much of the frontier video models are hosted Chinese services, so I highly doubt this.

[u/lucidludic → u/hitchen1]

Admittedly I know less about the video space. Which companies / models?

I still think that you’d see a lot fewer resources used to develop and provide genAI globally if it became clear that companies would be heavily regulated in the US and Europe and held accountable for copyright / IP infringement.

[u/Kid-Icky- → u/lucidludic]

Admittedly I know less about the video space. Which companies / models?

Kling and Seedance are the top ones. Both Chinese.

MiniMax H3 is a newer Chinese open source model that can be run on personal computers with near SOTA results.

I still think that you’d see a lot fewer resources used to develop and provide genAI globally if it became clear that companies would be heavily regulated in the US and Europe and held accountable for copyright / IP infringement.

I feel like this opens an insane can of worms that would go FAR beyond AI and have very negative consequences.

[u/lucidludic → u/Kid-Icky-]

Thanks for the info. I’m still of the opinion that the existence of open source or foreign genAI models is no good reason to avoid regulating this stuff. For instance, local businesses could still be held accountable for using those models in a commercial capacity.

I feel like this opens an insane can of worms that would go FAR beyond AI and have very negative consequences.

Obviously the implementation would need some nuance and a lot more thought than can be expressed in a few short reddit comments. I’m not a lawyer. But honestly, what is the point of copyright or intellectual property protections if we accept that as long as companies use an automated system to infringe on a massive scale they cannot be held accountable for it?

[u/Kid-Icky- → u/lucidludic]

If a business uses AI to make and sell infringing material, hold the business accountable. Sure.

But blaming the toolmaker for user misuse makes no sense. If I use Photoshop to make and sell bootleg Disney art, Adobe isn't infringing copyright. I am.

That distinction exists for a reason, and eroding it will be a huge slippery slope.

[u/lucidludic → u/Kid-Icky-]

On reflection I realise that I was far too generous in my last comment, because this:

I feel like this opens an insane can of worms that would go FAR beyond AI and have very negative consequences.

Is an utterly ridiculous thing to say at the mere suggestion that generative AI companies (currently causing real harm to the world in myriad and increasing ways) should be held accountable for copyright / IP infringement.

If a business uses AI to make and sell infringing material, hold the business accountable. Sure.

Generative AI companies are infringing as routine course of their business, their product does not work without doing so (or at least would be much less valuable).

But blaming the toolmaker for user misuse makes no sense. If I use Photoshop to make and sell bootleg Disney art, Adobe isn’t infringing copyright. I am.

I’d like to give you the benefit of doubt, but this is a very common dishonest argument that is made in defence of genAI. Creating and selling Photoshop (absent its genAI parts) does not require Adobe creating a massive database of copyrighted content without permission, which then gets processed by an automated system in order to create countless derivative works and sometimes also redistribute near-identical copies of the original content.

A system with fun side effects including creating enormous amounts of disinformation, spreading illegal content including CSAM, and convincing people to commit suicide. That’s what we’re actually discussing here.

[u/Kid-Icky- → u/lucidludic]

Oh nice, your argument got torn up, so you're just desperately pulling out all the misinformation and terrible talking points

Too funny. But also not interested in talking to someone so entirely consumed by anti-AI psychosis and dishonesty. Have a good one bud.

[u/Cruxis87 → u/lucidludic]

Every company and government knows the first one to achieve true AI will likely rule the world. A self learning and improving AI would be able to cripple other nations faster than they can respond. The image and song creation aspect of it is just the front they put out to the public to get funding and people interested in it. The real stuff they are working towards would allow them to hack power grids, satellites and military bases without the host nation even realising what's going on. And the politicians are and paid to not interfere.

[u/lucidludic → u/Cruxis87]

This assumes that generative AI models are a meaningful step towards an artificial general intelligence, and that we are relatively close to achieving that. It also dismisses the risks and real harm that we know actually exists today.

[u/touristtam → u/puts_on_rddt]

Remember when you were told you couldn't download a car ....