Following the death of legendary country singer Dolly Parton, her sister Stella Parton is urging people to stop flooding social media with AI-generated tributes that she says are making an already painful moment even harder.
Here's what to know
In a social media statement highlighted by Futurism, Stella Parton asked fans to stop posting what she called "fake AI garbage" after the singer's death. She wrote, "Sadly, because of the way our lives have been lived in front of the public, we have no choice but to be subjected to incredible pressure and insensitivity from strangers."
"There is a tremendous amount of AI and endless garbage being posted every day and it's been challenging to absorb and or ignore," she said further. At the same time, she thanked people who had shown "genuine support" and asked for empathy and humanity as the family celebrated Dolly Parton's life and tried to move forward.
Among the examples cited by Futurism was a YouTube upload presented as a "heartfelt fan-made tribute by Miley Cyrus," which received more than 1.5 million views. The BBC determined that the song was entirely AI-generated.
In a 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dolly Parton said she saw both promise and risk in AI. "I think all this stuff can be great, used in the right way," she said. "But not to replace voices and writings and not to replace a human being that belongs to God."
Stella Parton's message was clear: "It's not about the most clever comments, fake AI garbage, or snarky tweets." Instead, she said, what's needed is "more compassion."
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Other coverage of AI in the entertainment industry
What the Parton family is dealing with isn't happening in a vacuum. AI keeps showing up in entertainment and online culture in ways that leave people feeling misled, exploited, or simply creeped out.
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