(NewsNation) — Hollywood’s biggest movie stars appear divided on the burgeoning use of AI to mimic celebrity voices.
Oscar-winning actors Michael Caine and Matthew McConaughey have both cut deals with ElevenLabs that will allow the firm’s artificial intelligence technology to replicate their voices. McConaughey says he’s an investor and is interested in using the company’s AI software to translate his newsletter into Spanish.
Caine, meanwhile, with his beloved Cockney accent, has signed on to be part of the company’s “Iconic Marketplace” platform that will allow brands to license AI-generated celebrity voices for vetted projects. Working with stars or their estates, the company has amassed a growing stable of mimicked voices that includes those of John Wayne, Judy Garland, Art Garfunkel, and Thomas Edison.
“It’s not about replacing voices; it’s about amplifying them, opening doors for new storytellers everywhere. I’ve spent a lifetime telling stories. ElevenLabs will help the next generation tell theirs,” Caine, 92, said in a news release.
Other notable figures in the entertainment industry are less enthusiastic. Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman says AI has effectively ripped him off because some creators have been duplicating his voice without his consent. He said his lawyers have been busy getting fake Freemans off the Internet.
“I’m like any other actor: don’t mimic me with falseness. I don’t appreciate it and I get paid for doing stuff like that, so if you’re gonna do it without me, you’re robbing me,” the actor told The Guardian.
Actress Scarlett Johansson last year accused OpenAI of developing a talking chatbot with a voice that sounds like hers after she declined the company’s offers. OpenAI denied it was trying to mimic Johansson.