Stars Rally to Protect Voices from AI Cloning: A Call for New Laws!

A group of well-known actors in the UK, including Matt Lucas, Hugh Bonneville, and Nicola Coughlan, are raising concerns about the use of artificial intelligence to clone voices. They have written a letter to the UK government, asking for stronger laws to protect people from having their voices copied and used without permission. The actors want Prime Minister Andy Burnham to create a law that gives everyone in the UK the legal right to own their voice. This would mean that no one could use someone else's voice without their agreement.

AI voice cloning works by training computers on recordings of real people speaking. Sometimes, a computer can make a quick copy of a voice with just a few seconds of audio. However, to make a high-quality copy that sounds very real, the AI usually needs hours of recordings. Alice Sockett, who narrates audiobooks and helped start this campaign, says that AI voice cloning is a serious threat to people who work with their voices. She feels that her voice is out in the public but not protected, and she has noticed more cases of voice theft happening every week.

The UK government responded by saying that digital voice replicas can be useful, especially in creative industries, but they also understand that there are risks. They plan to talk to people about how to deal with these risks while still allowing new technology to grow. More than 80 performers have signed the letter, including Siobhán McSweeney from Derry Girls. She is worried that the government is not keeping up with the fast changes in technology. She believes that audiences want to hear real human voices, not just computer-generated ones. Other signers include people from different performing arts, like Scottish singer Sandi Thom. She says her voice is unique and full of her life experiences and emotions.

Recently, lawyers have warned that UK laws are not strong enough to protect people's voices, faces, or identities from being copied by AI. However, some people see benefits in AI voice cloning. For example, Yvonne Johnson lost her voice due to illness and used AI to create a copy of her voice. This helped her reconnect with her family, who had forgotten what she sounded like. Some people have even used AI to create digital versions of loved ones who have passed away, allowing them to speak at their own funerals. While this technology can be helpful in some cases, many actors and performers want to make sure their voices are protected by law so they cannot be used without permission.