Australian voice artists lose work to AI clones

Australian voice actors are being displaced by AI, and a pproximately 5,000 voice actors are at risk of losing their jobs , according to industry bodies. In Australia parliament's Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence, Australian Association of Voice Actors (AAVA) representatives described how large organisations and production companies - including Amazon's Audible - were using “strong arm tactics” to force voice actors to sign contracts allowing for their voice to be turned into a digital clone to be reused in the future. Examples of digital versions of voice actors being used without consent were also shown. Vo ice actor Cooper Mortlock told the inquiry his work on an animated series was cut short in 2022 when producers used an AI tool to clone his voice without his knowledge or compensation. In another instance, a voice actor who signed a contract with an AI text-to-speech company to create a voice for sale later discovered that their voice was being used for pornography ads, despite the contract stating it would not be used for “profane and explicit content”. The actors and the wider industry are concerned about licensing their voice likenesses without ethical or legal frameworks in place that ensure consent, control, transparency and fair compensation. The voice actor industry recommended a range of reforms to better protect the creative sectors from job losses, intellectual property infringement and other harms associated with AI technologies, which they see as compromising the quality, credibility, and humanity of the industry. System 🤖 Unknown Operator: Amazon/Audible Developer: Country: Austra lia Sector: Media/entertainment/sports/arts Purpose: Replicate voice Technology: Machine learning; Speech synthesis Issue: Employm ent; Transparency Legal, regulatory 👩🏼‍⚖️ Parliament of Australia. Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence

Date it happened

2022-01-01

Organisation involved

Amazon/Audible

This is a record of what was reported, not a finding that anyone broke the law. If it names your organisation and you believe it is wrong, the corrections process is free and open to everyone.