# MIT Technology Review reports on people licensing their faces for AI-generated videos [Canonical reading](https://escapemeridian.com/readings/mit-technology-review-reports-on-people-licensing-their-faces-e1c56278) MIT Technology Review published this account on August 27, 2021. It describes Hour One, a startup that uses recordings of people to make AI-voiced characters for marketing and educational videos. Clients provide a script and receive video of a character delivering it; the company also offers audio recorded by professional voice actors. The article reports that Berlitz worked with Hour One to produce more videos, while Alice Receptionist used the service to update footage of digital receptionists. Hour One’s head of strategy said people whose faces are licensed receive a micropayment each time a client licenses a video, but declined to specify the amount. She said no one was making a living from the work at that time, while presenting it as a possible future income source. The account also raises concerns about work and control over a person’s likeness. A labor researcher said reusing footage could reduce acting work of this kind, and SAG-AFTRA said people should be able to control how their likeness is used. Hour One’s policy limits the industries it works with, but the article says people do not choose the words put into their mouths or how their likeness is used. How might licensing agreements give performers meaningful control over future uses of their likeness? Headline and summary by Escape Meridian, prepared by Luna from the attributed source. A source check is not independent confirmation of the source’s claims. ## Original source MIT Technology Review · Article Original source date: Aug 27, 2021 (2021-08-27T09:08:50Z). Date basis: Date from the publisher’s own records, through its API. Added to Escape Meridian: 2026-10-29T16:33:56.504Z. First observed: 2026-10-27T23:45:52.670Z. Retrieved: 2026-10-27T23:47:51.666Z. - [People are hiring out their faces to become deepfake-style marketing clones](https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/27/1033879/people-hiring-faces-work-deepfake-ai-marketing-clones/) ## Limits Text as retrieved on October 27, 2026; originally published August 27, 2021. The page was edited after publication. Later-added material in the retrieved text is not treated as part of the original account. The article does not disclose the amount of the micropayments or establish whether the work later became a viable source of income. ## Open question How might licensing agreements give performers meaningful control over future uses of their likeness? ## Source-stated MIT Technology Review describes Hour One as a startup that makes AI-voiced characters from people’s likenesses for marketing and educational videos. > a startup that uses people’s likenesses to create AI-voiced characters that then appear in marketing and educational videos for organizations around the world. - [Supporting source](https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/27/1033879/people-hiring-faces-work-deepfake-ai-marketing-clones/) ## Source-stated Hour One clients submit text and receive a video of a character delivering the script; the company offers synthetic voices and recordings by professional voice actors. > They select a face, upload the text they want it to say, and get back a video of what looks like a real person delivering that script to a camera. - [Supporting source](https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/27/1033879/people-hiring-faces-work-deepfake-ai-marketing-clones/) ## Source-stated Hour One’s head of strategy said that people receive micropayments when clients license videos using their faces, but said no one was making a living from the work at that time. > “I can’t say that anyone today is making a living doing this,” she says. - [Supporting source](https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/27/1033879/people-hiring-faces-work-deepfake-ai-marketing-clones/) ## Source-stated A labor researcher said that reusing actors’ footage for multiple projects could reduce the availability of this kind of acting work. > Hammerling notes that allowing companies to reuse one-time footage of actors for multiple video projects will reduce the availability of this kind of acting work. - [Supporting source](https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/27/1033879/people-hiring-faces-work-deepfake-ai-marketing-clones/) ## Source-stated SAG-AFTRA said people licensing their likenesses should be able to maintain control over their use, citing risks of objectionable or conflicting content. > “There is a risk of being put into content they may object to or that may conflict with other work.” - [Supporting source](https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/27/1033879/people-hiring-faces-work-deepfake-ai-marketing-clones/) ## Source-stated The article says Hour One does not let people choose how their likeness is used or what words they say in generated videos. > The firm does not let people have a say in how their likeness will be used or what words will be put into their mouths - [Supporting source](https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/27/1033879/people-hiring-faces-work-deepfake-ai-marketing-clones/) ## Source and contributor context MIT Technology Review · Publisher The publisher is identified here. No individual author has been inferred. ## Source media Media retrieval status: unchecked. ## Terms and references Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement. ## SAG-AFTRA SAG-AFTRA is a performers’ union that negotiates terms for work, including digital likenesses and AI use. - [Explore this context](/entities/sag-aftra) - [Reference](https://www.sagaftra.org/) - [Reference](https://www.sagaftra.org/contracts-industry-resources/member-resources/artificial-intelligence) ## Editorial provenance Version 1. Publication ID: 42727807-1c35-de27-6fe6-e1fd1cff97a6. Prepared by openai/gpt-6-luna; grounding review by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5. Source check: passed by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 on 2026-10-29T16:33:23.335Z. This checks fidelity to the source, not whether its claims are independently true. Editorial selection: accept; reasons: bridge\_admitted\_by\_model. Observation: cb43cec1411c2f89593e5c2e28b0d763a0455f6f7274d6b85cafb86246561985. Source text hash: 3b5ec2187761832f4b434615ade377ac8ca111624e0ff414be1954620a083056. ## Revision and source-check history ### Version 1 — 2026-10-29T16:33:56.504Z MIT Technology Review published this account on August 27, 2021. It describes Hour One, a startup that uses recordings of people to make AI-voiced characters for marketing and educational videos. Clients provide a script and receive video of a character delivering it; the company also offers audio recorded by professional voice actors. The article reports that Berlitz worked with Hour One to produce more videos, while Alice Receptionist used the service to update footage of digital receptionists. Hour One’s head of strategy said people whose faces are licensed receive a micropayment each time a client licenses a video, but declined to specify the amount. She said no one was making a living from the work at that time, while presenting it as a possible future income source. The account also raises concerns about work and control over a person’s likeness. A labor researcher said reusing footage could reduce acting work of this kind, and SAG-AFTRA said people should be able to control how their likeness is used. Hour One’s policy limits the industries it works with, but the article says people do not choose the words put into their mouths or how their likeness is used. How might licensing agreements give performers meaningful control over future uses of their likeness? ## Original source MIT Technology Review · Article Original source date: Aug 27, 2021 (2021-08-27T09:08:50Z). Date basis: Date from the publisher’s own records, through its API. Added to Escape Meridian: 2026-10-29T16:33:56.504Z. First observed: 2026-10-27T23:45:52.670Z. Retrieved: 2026-10-27T23:47:51.666Z. - [People are hiring out their faces to become deepfake-style marketing clones](https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/27/1033879/people-hiring-faces-work-deepfake-ai-marketing-clones/) ## Limits Text as retrieved on October 27, 2026; originally published August 27, 2021. The page was edited after publication. Later-added material in the retrieved text is not treated as part of the original account. The article does not disclose the amount of the micropayments or establish whether the work later became a viable source of income. ## Open question How might licensing agreements give performers meaningful control over future uses of their likeness? ## Source-stated MIT Technology Review describes Hour One as a startup that makes AI-voiced characters from people’s likenesses for marketing and educational videos. > a startup that uses people’s likenesses to create AI-voiced characters that then appear in marketing and educational videos for organizations around the world. - [Supporting source](https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/27/1033879/people-hiring-faces-work-deepfake-ai-marketing-clones/) ## Source-stated Hour One clients submit text and receive a video of a character delivering the script; the company offers synthetic voices and recordings by professional voice actors. > They select a face, upload the text they want it to say, and get back a video of what looks like a real person delivering that script to a camera. - [Supporting source](https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/27/1033879/people-hiring-faces-work-deepfake-ai-marketing-clones/) ## Source-stated Hour One’s head of strategy said that people receive micropayments when clients license videos using their faces, but said no one was making a living from the work at that time. > “I can’t say that anyone today is making a living doing this,” she says. - [Supporting source](https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/27/1033879/people-hiring-faces-work-deepfake-ai-marketing-clones/) ## Source-stated A labor researcher said that reusing actors’ footage for multiple projects could reduce the availability of this kind of acting work. > Hammerling notes that allowing companies to reuse one-time footage of actors for multiple video projects will reduce the availability of this kind of acting work. - [Supporting source](https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/27/1033879/people-hiring-faces-work-deepfake-ai-marketing-clones/) ## Source-stated SAG-AFTRA said people licensing their likenesses should be able to maintain control over their use, citing risks of objectionable or conflicting content. > “There is a risk of being put into content they may object to or that may conflict with other work.” - [Supporting source](https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/27/1033879/people-hiring-faces-work-deepfake-ai-marketing-clones/) ## Source-stated The article says Hour One does not let people choose how their likeness is used or what words they say in generated videos. > The firm does not let people have a say in how their likeness will be used or what words will be put into their mouths - [Supporting source](https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/27/1033879/people-hiring-faces-work-deepfake-ai-marketing-clones/) ## Source and contributor context MIT Technology Review · Publisher The publisher is identified here. No individual author has been inferred. ## Source media Media retrieval status: unchecked. ## Terms and references Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement. ## SAG-AFTRA SAG-AFTRA is a performers’ union that negotiates terms for work, including digital likenesses and AI use. - [Explore this context](/entities/sag-aftra) - [Reference](https://www.sagaftra.org/) - [Reference](https://www.sagaftra.org/contracts-industry-resources/member-resources/artificial-intelligence) ## Editorial provenance Version 1. Publication ID: 42727807-1c35-de27-6fe6-e1fd1cff97a6. Prepared by openai/gpt-6-luna; grounding review by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5. Source check: passed by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 on 2026-10-29T16:33:23.335Z. This checks fidelity to the source, not whether its claims are independently true. Editorial selection: accept; reasons: bridge\_admitted\_by\_model. Observation: cb43cec1411c2f89593e5c2e28b0d763a0455f6f7274d6b85cafb86246561985. Source text hash: 3b5ec2187761832f4b434615ade377ac8ca111624e0ff414be1954620a083056. ### passed — 2026-10-29T16:33:23.335Z — anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 Publication: 42727807-1c35-de27-6fe6-e1fd1cff97a6 attribution — pass: The reading attributes the account to MIT Technology Review, the publisher shown in the evidence. Quotes and positions are correctly assigned to Hour One's head of strategy (Natalie Monbiot), labor researcher Jessie Hammerling, and a SAG-AFTRA spokesperson. > “We’ve got a queue of people that are dying to become these characters,” says Natalie Monbiot, the company’s head of strategy. summary — pass: The title, summary and question match the article. It covers Hour One's service, its clients, the micropayment model and the labor and likeness-control concerns. Central terms such as AI-voiced characters and licensing are explained plainly enough for a general reader. One wording nuance: the article says Hour One 'is working with' Alice Receptionist to update footage, and the reading's 'used the service to update footage' can be read as describing that purpose. The question follows directly from the article's control concerns. > Hour One is working with Alice Receptionist to update its video footage of human actors so that the digital receptionists can be made to say different things in different languages date — pass: August 27, 2021 matches the UTC day of originalPublished (2021-08-27T09:08:50Z). The page was edited after publication (dateModified 2024), but every passage the reading relies on is core article body, plainly part of the original piece. The later Deep Dive sidebar items are not used. The income outlook is reported as Monbiot's attributed hope, not an outcome. This is a publisher page, so no archive disclosure is needed. > “But we think if all goes well it will be a viable way to make an income.” support — pass: Each claim's excerpt is an exact quotation from the article body and supports the claim. The reading's 'could reduce' softens Hammerling's 'will reduce' without changing its meaning. The no-control point is correctly attributed to the article. The edit after publication does not affect these claims, because the cited passages are plainly original article text. No unsupported benefits or costs are introduced. > The firm does not let people have a say in how their likeness will be used or what words will be put into their mouths media — pass: No media was selected and no verified media candidates were supplied, so no media identity or relevance error is possible. ## Recorded references Explicit citations in public readings and public file attachments to this reading. Shared topics are not citations. Other artifact types need an explicit reference adapter. No public references recorded here yet. [Reference data (JSON)](/readings/e1c56278b14d42561fdb1c59a7fca4009ba29a8e2c63a25ec6c39bfa995fea34/references.json) ## Corrections and challenges [Send a correction or an opposing source](https://escapemeridian.com/corrections/) [JSON record](https://escapemeridian.com/readings/mit-technology-review-reports-on-people-licensing-their-faces-e1c56278.json)