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Around 80 British actors and singers, including stars like Hugh Bonneville, Matt Lucas, and Nicola Coughlan, are urging the government to establish legislative restrictions on the use of human voices by artificial intelligence.
Supporters of the campaign «Save Our Voices — Now!» believe the UK Parliament should pass a law that grants all citizens official ownership of their voices.
Modern AI technology enables the cloning of real voices. Often, analyzing just a few seconds of original audio is enough to create a mediocre copy, but using several hours of actual recordings can produce high-quality clones that are indistinguishable from the original.
As the letter’s authors point out, such technologies not only threaten the rights of actors but also facilitate crimes. They note that 28% of the adult population in the UK has already encountered attempts by fraudsters to deceive them using cloned voices.
The Guardian quotes campaign initiator Peter Colifield, who states that «with an appropriate AI system, your voice can be cloned, stolen, and interpreted in just three seconds, and you won’t even know about it.»
«It’s like an episode of ‘Black Mirror,’ but it’s happening in reality,” he says. “Ultimately, the government is allowing AI companies to steal the voices of actors and profit from it. And they are permitting criminals to use AI to clone people’s identities and threaten everyone. We must stop this—and use our real voices to do so.»
Voice Theft
As the Guardian reminds us, in some countries like Denmark, laws grant citizens ownership rights over their face, body, and voice, allowing them to demand the removal of unauthorized AI-generated content and compensation.
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One of the petition signers, Alice Socket (an audiobook narrator), describes the situation as an «existential threat to the entire industry.» «My voice is widely available, but it’s completely unprotected,» she states. «We face voice theft more frequently and see it almost every week.»
A UK government representative told the BBC that «digital copies can be powerful tools, including for the creative industry,» though there are risks associated with this technology.
«We value and protect people engaged in creative work. Therefore, we announce our intention to start public consultations on how to prevent such harm without harming genuine innovations,» the government said.
However, the petitioning actors are concerned that authorities are responding too late.
«There are ways to work with AI and use it as a tool that helps us, rather than turning us into something obsolete,» says Irish actress Siobhan McSweeney (known for the series «Derry Girls»). «Our audiences need a connection between people, not AI,» she adds.
Photo by, PA Media
Scottish singer Sandy Thom states she signed the letter because her voice is «exclusively mine, and I received it at birth.» «Behind this voice are my emotions, life, pain, tears, and joy that I have experienced all this time. Without creativity, we are nothing,» she explains.
A few months ago, a group of lawyers called on the UK Parliament to pass new laws regulating AI operations, as current legislation no longer meets modern requirements.
«The laws are largely adequate, but they do not fully protect our voices, faces, or identities,» lawyer Matilda Pavis stated in June.
Not Just Harm, But Benefit
However, there are also those who highlight the benefits of voice reproduction technologies using AI, particularly for individuals who have lost their ability to speak due to illness.
Among them is Yvonne Johnson, who suffers from motor neuron disease. In February, she told the BBC that her voice had been cloned by artificial intelligence, which «completely astonished her.»
As a result, Yvonne can once again speak with her family members who had forgotten what her voice sounded like.
Some have taken it even further—using AI to reproduce not just the voice but also a hologram of the person’s appearance.
An American, Pam Cronat, used this technology at her husband’s funeral, where his digital copy «addressed» the attendees. This story was reported by the English-language BBC News website.
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