If episode 1 was all about brand protection, episode 2 turns the dial straight to identity protection—because in 2025, it’s getting harder to know whether the person you’re seeing online is the real deal… or a very convincing AI copy.

Enter Brandon Bauman, chief strategy officer of Loti AI. Brandon has spent his career working where entertainment and technology collide, helping shape how audiences discover and engage with content long before AI took the spotlight. Now, he’s helping ensure artists, talent and other public figures can control how they appear and are represented online.

Brandon describes Loti AI as a “LifeLock for the internet,” giving public figures the ability to detect and remove unauthorized uses of their likeness online. They index the entire internet daily to hunt down impersonators, deepfakes and any other unauthorized content. Keanu Reeves is using the platform. County election officials are using the platform. Basically: if your name, face or voice can be misused… someone out there is trying.

And these scammers? They’re patient. As Brandon explains, fake accounts often start as harmless “fan pages”… then flip the switch once followers trust them. Suddenly your favorite actor is sending you a Telegram link or selling you “exclusive” access to a fake event. Brandon’s warning: if you’re getting DMs from Kevin Costner asking to meet in a parking lot… don’t.

But beneath the challenges lies opportunity. With the right protections in place, talent can unlock entirely new ways to engage audiences—from personalized performances to interactive promotional moments. Fan engagement isn’t just changing, it’s becoming interactive.

Of course, none of that works without rights. As Brandon explained, technology can scale, but likeness rights cannot be engineered; they must be granted. And the biggest players in AI are now learning that lesson through lawsuits, legislation and a rush to add protections.

Right now, trust online feels optional. Brandon believes that has to change, and sooner rather than later. The technology exists, and once guardrails are put in place and fakes are flagged and removed, creativity can finally take the lead. 

Episode 2 is live now: “Digital Doppelgangers: Navigating AI and Likeness Rights”

Give it a listen and see how the entertainment industry is planning for what comes next in AI identity protection.