Vancouver voice actors concerned about AI cloning voices without consent
Advances in artificial intelligence means software can generate accurate voice clones that sound just like the real thing, but that's putting some actors in a precarious position, including Vancouver's Bill Newton.
He recently found out his voice was cloned without his permission based on a project he was in years ago.
"My voice in particular, on one of the websites that stores AI models, has been used 481 times,” he said.
With an impressive vocal range, the performer, who is part of the Union of BC Performers and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists can be heard in big-name projects, including My Little Pony and Lego Marvel.
Fortunately, the unauthorized use of his voice hasn't impacted him booking gigs, but Newton and other artists wonder if it might in the future and what will happen to the quality of creative projects.
"There's a lot of corporations, producers, studios that will look at things and the savings they can make and consider it good enough – and that’s the last thing we want,” he said.
UBC Theatre and Film assistant professor Patrick Parra Pennefather, shared more of an optimistic view.
"The dominant use of these tools, thoug,h are for good and to benefit humanity,” he said, adding that AI can be used as a creative tool.
“I think the future is in individuals and organizations having more control over their own data,” he said. “How can it give you a demo of what you might sound like if you read the script?”
With the ease, affordability and proliferation of AI, performers wonder whether companies will outsource creative work to bots.
“As actors and performers, when we agree to put our faces, voices, names on things, we are aware of what that will become. AI takes that away. Suddenly, I can be used as a spokesperson for something that I am morally against,” said Newton.
Pennefather argues AI can’t mimic the nuances and true emotion of human speech and it also makes mistakes, but notes that the technology is getting smarter.
"Actors need to be really aware that the technology exists, but I’m going to say this to not just actors, but everybody – your voice can be cloned, mine can be cloned. All someone needs is a lot of recordings of that particular voice,” he explained.
With Hollywood writers on strike, many in the entertainment industry are keen to negotiate their contracts to account for the potential challenges posed by AI and to push for the implementation regulations and protections.
"There are a lot of policies that are being developed nationally and also internationally to take on these ethical dilemmas that AI is surfacing,” Pennefather said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.