The recent controversy over ChatGPT's developers' use of a voice that resembles Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson is another example of the complexities of generative artificial intelligence and the ethical debate surrounding the technology.
OpenAI said Skye's voice (one of several voices available for its popular chatbot) is not an imitation of an actor, but that of another professional using her natural speaking voice. Ta.
Still, the similarities to Johansson are striking, with the Marvel star questioning whether the voice was “eerily similar” to her own after turning down an offer to lend her voice to The System.
The company suspended Sky earlier this week.
The high-profile incident has put the topic of AI voices in the spotlight, with several video game voice actors saying they are particularly vulnerable to rogue AI.
In one case, the video game Cyberpunk 2077 involved a user-created mod that changed the main character to Adam Jensen and added voice performances.
The problem is that Adam Jensen is the main character of another video game series whose voice actor neither contributed his talents to the fan project nor consented to its creation.
“This is a complete performance of my voice,” says Elias Toufexis, who grew up in Montreal and now lives in Los Angeles. “I thought, no matter who this person is, they can't do something like this.”
He says the mod's creator has agreed to remove it.
Toufexis — also known for his voice work in video games such as Starfield, Assassin's Creed, and the Splinter Cell series, as well as roles in live-action shows such as The Expanse and Star Trek. Discovery” — says artificial intelligence is cool and has a lot of potential.
However, while AI can be used to assist art, Toufexis says it shouldn't be used to create art.
Ubisoft, the publisher of the Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell games, seems to agree.
Yves Jacquier is the executive director of La Forge, a division within Ubisoft. Montreal-based LaForge aims to prototype innovations born from the latest academic research to improve the game-making process, its website says, including artificial intelligence.
“AI is here to help creators,” Jacquier said. “Creators need to have an edge and a vision, and AI is one tool to help them realize that vision.”
Jacquier said he hasn't heard of Ubisoft's AI applications taking over jobs that should be done by humans.
“We develop these solutions together with the end user,” he said, citing an in-house tool called GhostWriter as an example.
According to a 2023 announcement, Ghostwriter won't replace video game writers, but will help them with one of their most arduous tasks: writing dialogue, known as “barks.” This tool generates samples that humans can select and polish.
This is essentially filler dialogue uttered by non-player characters and can be as simple as “Get off!” or “Grenade!”
Toufexis said the job of voicing lines in video games is disappearing due to AI, and that it may become more difficult for aspiring voice actors to break into the industry.
Another major concern is fair treatment.
For voice actor Jennifer Hale, it comes down to three things: “Control over what happens with our voice; consenting to the use of our voice in the first place; and compensation for the use of our voice,” says Hale, who was born in Happy, Valley-Goose Bay, N.B., and now lives on Vancouver Island.
“This is my voice,” says Hale, best known for his role as Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect series.
“This is an expression of my soul. This is an expression of my decades of life experience. No one is allowed to use this without my permission.”
Hale acknowledges that AI is a tool that is not inherently harmful. She's not against AI, she says, but against its misuse.
But the case of ChatGPT's Johansson soundalike highlights the need for protection for actors, especially voice actors.
Lindsay Rousseau, a Los Angeles-based actor with a diverse background in video games, film and performance capture, said an actor's contract is their main protection.
She pointed to work done by the US-based National Voice Actors Association to make AI riders and contract addenda available for professionals to use when negotiating work.
Rousseau said the use of AI voice could become more common at smaller video game studios that don't necessarily know how to work with actors. Or have the money to pay for them.
But for big-budget projects, companies still look for big names, she says.
“They still want Jen Hales,” she says.
There's a reason people love movie stars, Toufexis says, and it's because they want to connect with the characters through the actors.
“There is no AI Meryl Streep. It's never going to happen.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2024.
Curtis Ng, The Canadian Press