David Attenborough is ‘deeply concerned’ about unauthorized artificial intelligence voice cloning

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Famous natural history presenter David Attenborough has expressed deep concern about the unauthorized cloning of his voice by artificial intelligence (AI) developers.

The BBC informed him of a problem that appeared while watching a clip from his latest series of Asia was broadcast with an almost identical AI voiceover.

“Having spent my whole life trying to say what I believe to be the truth … my identity is being hijacked by others,” Attenborough told the BBC.

An AI clone’s response to Attenborough’s concerns

The creator of the cloned voice responded to Attenborough’s concerns by saying in a similar voice: “Let’s get the facts straight. Unless Mr. Attenborough was secretly forging for us… he’s not on our payroll.”

“I’m not David Attenborough. We’re both definitely male British voices, but I’m not David Attenborough for those who might be confused.’

This only adds to the debate about copyright and privacy violations in AI voice cloning.

Unauthorized use of Attenborough’s voice in the news

Attenborough’s cloned voice has reportedly been used in news stories on YouTube channels such as Intellectualist. These reports cover a range of topics from the Ukraine-Russia war to Donald Trump.

“I am deeply concerned that my identity is being hijacked by others these days and I am very opposed to them using it to say whatever they want,” Attenborough added.

US law and previous cases of AI voice cloning

In the US, the issue of cloned likenesses prompted the bipartisan Nurture Originals, Foster Art and Keep Entertainment Safe Act, or No Fakes Act, last year. The law aims to hold those who create clones accountable for their actions.

At the beginning of this year, OpenAI called a voice Soon “Sky” was removed after launch when Scarlett Johansson objected to the similarity of her voice.

Morgan Freemanthe voice was malicious used to deceive people.