Sunny Hostin licenses image to AI studio after co-hosts blasted the tech

Sunny Hostin, a co-host of “The View,” has licensed her name and likeness to an artificial intelligence studio Fountain 0 to help produce film and television adaptations of her novels, months after several of her fellow co-hosts publicly criticized the rise of AI in Hollywood.

The company said in a release that Ms. Hostin, a former federal prosecutor and novelist, is the first major personality to agree to develop and produce films using the studio’s technology and to license her image and likeness for that purpose.

Ms. Hostin, referencing the potential adaptation of her own books, including “Summer on Highland Beach,” said she is excited to “have my image inserted in the productions, so that audiences can relate to me.”

The deal comes after Ms. Hostin’s “View” co-hosts, including moderator Ms. Whoopi Goldberg, have repeatedly voiced skepticism about AI’s expansion into entertainment. Ms. Goldberg criticized her “Ghost” co-star Demi Moore on air after Ms. Moore encouraged the public to embrace the technology, and has said she does not want to feel “pushed” into adopting it.

In June, the talk show aired a clip of Hollywood figures — including Ms. Moore, Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston — urging viewers to better understand AI, prompting pushback from Ms. Goldberg on the show.

Ms. Goldberg has also spoken out against AI-related technology in other contexts, criticizing Amazon’s Alexa device during a 2023 broadcast. She has said her will bars her likeness from ever being used to create a hologram of her after her death.

The studio behind the Hostin deal said it has developed proprietary software and a “virtual production studio” it claims can significantly cut production costs, and that it plans to pursue similar licensing agreements with other public figures and influencers to help market future releases.

Entertainment Weekly first reported on the agreement with Ms. Hostin.