According to Astarion’s voice, artificial intelligence is weak, to say the least, and lacks the potential for “successful accidents” that humans possess.
Artificial intelligence is the new big thing. It’s supposed to be the foundation of the 21st-century digital economy. It’s the tech that will feed the hungry and clothe the naked. It’ll punish the wicked and reward the righteous. It might even bring back the dead—well, maybe not quite. But losing our jobs? That’s almost a guarantee. In a conversation with Radio Times Gaming, Neil Newbon—best known as the voice of Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3—made a blistering comment about how useful AI actually is for actors like him:
“I’ve talked to a lot of developers, and most don’t want to use AI because it sucks. It doesn’t really work. You have to put in a ton of effort to get something even remotely acceptable. Even with the latest tech, I’m like, ‘Sure, you can make AI—but so what? Where’s the joy?’ You can always tell something’s off. It just isn’t right. It’s artificial, not genuine.
There’s no potential for those happy accidents, those magic moments in film, TV, theater, or games where nobody can predict what’ll happen. That’s where real magic is. Like Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy slamming the car—‘I’m walking here!’—because he almost got hit but stayed in character. That was iconic, and it was totally random. Most famous quotes come from those happy accidents. So yeah, AI sucks,” Newbon said.
And he’s right. Games have seen lots of attempts at AI voice acting, and the results are all over the place. Whether it’s the robotic performance of The Finals’ commentators, the never-meant-for-public AI-controlled Aloy, or modders swapping out bad fan headset recordings for synthetic voices—AI’s to blame for all that.
@radiotimesgaming Neil Newbon has some pretty strong opinions on AI in the creative arts and its place in the industry as a whole. What do you think? Let us know in the comments. #NeilNewbon #Astarion #BaldursGate3 #bg3 #Gaming #Larian #dnd #DungeonsAndDragons #ai #aigeneration
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