The estates of several Hollywood icons are lining up to cash in on artificial intelligence voice cloning deals so that the voices of deceased celebrities can be recreated for new merchandising possibilities.
Voice cloning company ElevenLabs has announced that it has secured contracts with the estates of celebrities including Burt Reynolds, Judy Garland, James Dean, and Sir Laurence Olivier to use computer technology to recreate the voices of these stars for uses including an audio book app, CNBC reported.
The year-old company “creates audio for books and news articles, video game characters, film pre-production, and social media and advertising.” They also work with with the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Disney.
According to ElevenLabs spokesman Sam Sklar, “You need around 30 minutes of high-quality audio to create a professional voice clone.” From that sampling, the company says it can recreate someone’s voice with precision.
One way the company will allow customers to use the voices is by offering them as a selection in an audio book. Customers can choose a celebrity’s voice for a book reading, or to read articles, or other uses included in the app. But customers will not have an option to use the voices outside of the app.
Sklar added that the company is acutely aware of how the tech could be abused, saying “We’re very alive to the risks associated with synthetic media and take the safe use of our tools incredibly seriously.”
Use of AI to recreate the visage and voices of celebrities is a hot button issue for actors and featured as one of the chief worries of actors during the 2023 Hollywood actors’ strike. And this year, voice actors for the video gaming industry went on strike — and one of their chief fears was the use of AI to replace them.
In May, a poll of film industry workers found that 42 percent feared that AI would be used to replace human actors and other artists and that AI would “harm people” in the entertainment sector.
Also, a growing list of actors, directors, and film industry notables have come out with critical statements concerning the use of AI in the industry.
Actor Nicholas Cage, for instance, warned that AI will lead to theft of intellectual property and even remarked that computers are “just going to steal my body.”
Actor Sean Penn also blasted AI, saying in 2023 that using it will create a “human obscenity.”
Ron Nyswaner, the screenwriter of the film Philadelphia, also warned about AI this year when he said that it will create soulless dreck that will remove the possibility for artists and viewers to “think and feel.”
Many notable filmmakers have also spoken out against the use of artificial intelligence.
Producer, writer, and director James Cameron warned that AI will lead to a Judgment Day-style cataclysm with out-of-control algorithms taking control of warfare.
Director Ridley Scott of Blade Runner fame called AI bad for humanity, and compared it to a “technical hydrogen bomb.”
Director Christopher Nolan said AI will surely reach an “Oppenheimer moment” — or a point of no return — and that people need to be “held accountable” for its development.
On the other hand, actor Ashton Kutcher praised the coming of AI and said that it will level the playing field and democratize entertainment so that anyone could make compelling films and TV shows.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston
