AI steals David Attenborough’s voice: ‘Deeply disturbed’

Published: November 20, 2024

AI Steals Another Celebrity’s Voice: ‘Deeply Concerned’

By Movieguide® Contributor

AI stole the voice of another celebrity. Natural history presenter David Attenborough’s voice has been cloned using the technology and he is worried about it.

The BBC showed an excerpt from Attenborough’s nature documentary ASIA, followed by an AI-generated version. Listeners could not tell the difference.

“Online publications in the U.S. have reportedly used his distinctive tones to deliver news bulletins on certain issues, including the recent election and the war in Ukraine,” The Standard reported.

Attenborough said About the incident: “Having spent my life trying to speak what I believe to be the truth, I am deeply concerned that these days my identity is being hijacked by others and I am very opposed to them using it to say whatever they want “.

The BBC then reproduced Attenborough’s AI-generated response.

“Let’s set the record straight. Unless Mr. Attenborough was forging for us in secret and under an assumed name and had a permit to work in the United States, he is 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,” is said.

This is not the first time that AI has stolen a celebrity’s voice. This is an ongoing problem in the entertainment industry.

Morgan Freeman is thanking fans for reporting a viral video using an artificial intelligence version of his voice… Freeman isn’t the only Hollywood star to respond to unauthorized use of their voice or likeness. “AVENGERS” actress Scarlett Johansson recently hired legal counsel after she claimed that OpenAI used a likeness of her voice without her consent. She claimed that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman first asked permission to use her voice.

READ MORE: MORGAN FREEMAN CALLS ‘UNAUTHORIZED’ VERSION OF HIS AI VOICE

Experts believe that the capabilities of artificial intelligence will grow, and ordinary consumers will not be able to distinguish between what is real and what is AI.

“I’m very confident in saying that in the long run, it will be impossible to tell the difference between the created image and the real thing,” James O’Brien, a professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, said.