Video Game Gig Makes Shahjehan Khan ’14, ’16 Think Twice About AI
06/11/2024
Psychology alum Shahjehan Khan ’14, ’16 loved playing the video game Mortal Kombat as a kid. So when the actor, podcaster, voice-over artist, musician and model was offered the chance to have his face scanned and used for a character in the game’s latest installment, he was thrilled.
“I don’t know if it’ll be the coolest thing I ever do in my career, but it’s an amazing opportunity to say that you’re the face of a video game character,” says Khan, whose visage was used for “demon sorcerer” Quan Chi in Mortal Kombat 1, which was released last December.
Khan received a one-time payment of $1,000 from the game’s developer, NetherRealm Studios, for the face-scanning gig in 2022. As he waited for the game to hit shelves, artificial intelligence burst onto the entertainment scene. Last summer, actors and writers went on strike in Hollywood over, in part, the use of AI and digital re-creation in movies and TV.
“AI has evolved so quickly, and some of us weren’t as aware of what it would do to the industry,” he says. “Whether we like it or not, AI is here, and we’re going to have to figure out how to live and work with it.”
When Khan gets a voice-over gig now, for instance, he makes sure there’s a clause in his contract that his voice won’t be digitally recreated for other uses.
“I’m doing my best, but it’s a weird time,” he says.
Meanwhile, he’s keeping busy with his media company, Rifelion, which is releasing a new podcast series this summer called “Witness Chappaquiddick” about Sen. Ted Kennedy’s car crash that killed Kennedy staffer Mary Jo Kopechne.
“It’s the untold story of a witness who was there that night in 1969, and it’s also a larger story about Martha’s Vineyard,” Khan says.
Rifelion is also releasing “Ramadan American,” a five-film anthology written by, directed by and starring American Muslims.
Asked if there will be any AI characters in the films, Khan laughs.
“Not if I have anything to do with it.” —EB