Grand Theft Auto voice actor Ned Luke, who played Michael De Santa in GTA V, yelled “f**king bulls**t” at an AI chatbot that used his voice…
As reported by PCGamesN, Luke responded to a post by the WAME AI company on X/Twitter. Because it advertised a chatbot that allowed users to “convers with Michael De Santa in a realistic voice.” WAME quickly removed the chatbot following Luke’s post, saying “this incident highlighted the complex interplay between the development of AI technology and the ethical and legal realms.” However, the GTA V actor was pretty freaked out by it.
Luke didn’t mince words in his post. “This is f**king bulls**t WAME,” he said. “Absolutely nothing cool about ripping people off with some lame computer estimation of my voice. Don’t waste your time on this garbage.”
He also named Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar Games and the actors’ union, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) in his response. And WAME quickly removed the chatbot and all associated promotional materials from the Internet.
They also responded to PCGamesN. “In light of the recent controversy surrounding the utilization of Mr Ned Luke’s voice in our application, we at WAME wish to express our profound understanding and concern,” it said.
“This incident has highlighted the intricate interplay between the advancement of AI technology and the ethical and legal realms.”
“WAME commits to protecting the rights of voice actors and creators while advancing ethical AI practices. We believe this controversy serves as a pivotal moment in harmonizing AI technology with relevant legal statutes.”
Luke is the latest in a long line of video game voice actors to tackle the threat of AI. They share how it affects them. The Witcher voice actor Doug Cockle recently told IGN that AI is “inevitable” but “dangerous.”
He shared Luke’s assessment that chatbots and similar uses “virtually deprive [voice actors] of their income.”
Video games have had a complicated relationship with AI in recent years. For example, Embark Studios, the developer of the blockbuster shooter The Finals, has been criticized. Because countless actors and even other developers have used AI voiceovers. Embark told IGN that “making games without actors is not the end goal.” However, he claimed that he uses a mixture of both recorded sounds and sounds generated by AI text-to-speech tools for his games.
Video game voice actors have previously criticised AI-generated explicit Skyrim mods. Victoria Atkin, the voice actress for Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, called AI-generated mods “the invisible enemy we’re fighting right now.” This was after he discovered his voice was being used by cloning software. Paul Eiding, the voice actor of Colonel Campbell in the Metal Gear Solid series, also condemned its use.
Ironically, the biggest developer to use AI for a voice actor so far is The Witcher studio CD Projekt Red, although this was only to replace a deceased voice actor after getting permission from the family.
In response to Grand Theft Auto’s chatbots, Cissy Jones, a voice actress known for her roles in Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, Shin Megami Tensei 5 and movies, has founded Morpheme.ai, a company to help voice actors embrace AI in their own way. t. In this way, they will also gain control over their own voice in the future.
This is fucking bullshit @wamexyz absolutely nothing cool about ripping people off with some lame computer estimation of my voice. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS GARBAGE…
Grand Theft Vocal ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️@RockstarGames @rclark98 @sagaftra https://t.co/QKGxygRp7x
— Ned Luke (@ned_luke) January 14, 2024
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