SAG-AFTRA Secures Deal With AI Company, Promises ‘Ethical AI Development’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Voice AI company Ethovox has partnered with SAG-AFTRA to bring accountability and choice to actors as concern over AI’s role in entertainment steadily grows.
The company uses AI voices of voice actors only with their consent, and they receive compensation for the use of their voices.
“SAG-AFTRA members who lend their voices to the development of the model will receive both session fees and ongoing revenue sharing for the life of the foundational model,” The Wrap explained.
The Wrap also notes that “no single actor will have their voice recognizably replicated by the model,” and voices will not be identifiable by the AI-generated speech.
“Ethovox is the only voice AI company owned and managed by voice actors, and we are pleased to be partnering with SAG-AFTRA on building a foundational voice A.I. model that prioritizes the interests of voice actors,” said Ethovox CEO Cissy Jones. “A.I. should be a choice. For that reason, we have reached out to the voice actor community throughout this process. Ethovox will continue to do so as we demonstrate that artists can, and should, be compensated for contributing to ethical A.I. development while also maintaining consent and control over their voice data.”
Deadline explained, “In addition to securing proper compensation for SAG-AFTRA members who want to participate in the building of the model, the union says it has secured a ‘commitment to diversity and inclusion’ from Ethovox.”
SAG-AFTRA has also joined forces with the AI company “Narrativ” for these reasons. Their union allows “license their digital voice replica for use in audio ads,” per Deadline.
“Narrativ — an online platform that allows performers to license their digital voice replicas for use in digital audio ads — has agreed to SAG-AFTRA’s A.I. informed consent, compensation and individual control requirements, as well as additional A.I. guardrails,” SAG-AFTRA announced.
These partnerships with AI companies are part of the union’s goal to protect its members from having their voices stolen and used without their consent, as several A-listers have experienced.
Morgan Freeman is thanking fans after being notified of a viral video that uses an AI version of his voice… Freeman isn’t the only Hollywood star hitting back at unauthorized uses of their voice or likeness. AVENGERS actress Scarlett Johansson recently hired legal counsel after she claimed OpenAI used her voice’s likeness without her consent. She alleged that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman initially asked for permission to use her voice.
READ MORE: MORGAN FREEMAN CALLS OUT ‘UNAUTHORIZED’ AI VERSION OF HIS VOICE
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