Esquire Singapore published an interview with actor Mackenyu, known for his role as Roronoa Zoro in Netflix’s “One Piece” adaptation, despite the actor himself not participating in the conversation. Due to his tight schedule, Mackenyu was unable to attend, prompting the editorial team to use artificial intelligence (AI), specifically Claude and Copilot, trained on his past statements, to generate responses.
The interview included a disclaimer stating it was created with AI and edited by humans. However, its content quickly raised eyebrows, with the “answers” often appearing vague, lacking specifics, and sounding like typical, context-free AI formulations.
The most significant controversy arose from a segment where the AI version of Mackenyu discussed his deceased father, Sonny Chiba (who famously played Hattori Hanzo in “Kill Bill”). The text spoke of pressure to live up to his father’s legacy and a desire to earn his approval.
When contacted by Kotaku regarding Mackenyu’s consent for such an initiative, no response was received from Esquire. This lack of communication led to the reasonable assumption that the actor did not approve of this creative approach. The article remains publicly accessible on Esquire Singapore’s platform.