The exponential growth of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to create problems. In Hollywood, screenwriters and actors have been on strike since before the summer over fears that AI could replace their jobs. This fear has intensified after actor Stephen Fry, a well-known British comedian popular for his role in films such as V for Vendetta or Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, revealed that an AI used his voice without his consent. . He explained it during his participation in the CogX festival in London.
The British actor denounced that an AI used his readings for the audiobooks of the seven volumes of the Harry Potter saga to create an artificial voice that narrated a historical documentary. Fry denounced that he had not given his consent for his voice to be used in these contents, for which he was surprised and upset.
“I didn’t say a word about it: it was a machine. Yes, I was surprised. […] They used my reading of the seven volumes of the Harry Potter books, and from that set of data an AI of my voice was created and made that new narration,” said the actor as reported by Deadline.
Fry highlighted the flexibility of this AI technology, which allows words to be modulated to fit the meaning of each sentence, meaning that anything from political speeches to explicit content could be made to be read without the consent of the voice’s owner. Furthermore, he warned that what has been experienced so far in terms of AI is just the beginning and that the technology will advance rapidly.
“He could have me read anything, from a call to storm parliament to hardcore pornography, all without my knowledge and without my permission. And this, what you just heard, was done without my knowledge. Then I found out about this, I told him “I sent my agents on both sides of the Atlantic and they were furious: they had no idea that something like this was possible,” said the actor.
Fry compared the current state of AI to the first automobiles, “impressive, but not in the finished article,” noting that when automobiles were invented, no one could have predicted how widespread and ingrained they would become in society.
In his opinion, “it won’t be long before deepfake videos, which use similar technology, are just as convincing.” AI, the actor fears, “will advance at a faster pace than any technology we’ve ever seen. One thing we can agree on: it’s a fucking strange time to be alive,” he lamented.
This new incident raises the need to address potential fraudulent uses of AI and the ethical implications of creating artificial voices and content without the consent of the people involved.
