The "Grand Theft Auto" series might be known for some of gaming's most ambitious — and often morally questionable — heists. But this "GTA" actor was just robbed of something truly unbelievable: his voice.
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00:00The Grand Theft Auto series might be known for some of gaming's most ambitious and often
00:05morally questionable heists, but this GTA actor was just robbed of something truly unbelievable
00:11— his voice.
00:13Go f— yourself.
00:16These days, it seems AI is at the forefront of nearly every industry's hopes and fears.
00:21Some publications and companies have begun using artificial intelligence to generate
00:26ad copy of full articles, while some artists fear being outright replaced by software
00:31that can create full table ads with just a few prompts from the user.
00:35Voice actors are also feeling the heat from AI's surge in popularity, and folks like Grand
00:40Theft Auto 5 star Ned Luke are outright fuming over how their voice has been replicated through
00:45AI without their permission.
00:47I didn't want it to come to this.
00:50Much to the dismay of working voice actors, a growing trend on the internet has seen people
00:55using AI to create videos of their favorite characters and real-world personalities participating
01:01in very odd activities, from a recording of Hank Hill singing Marty Robbins' Big Iron
01:06to a scene of Leon Kennedy meeting Joe Biden.
01:10Some of these audio deepfakes sound entirely too convincing for everyone to feel comfortable
01:15with their existence.
01:16Making matters more concerning for some, SAG-AFTRA has recently signed a deal with Replica Studios,
01:22paving the way for companies to use digital replicas of top voice talent.
01:27Though this deal emphasizes that the artists involved must consent to any official use
01:31of their vocal likenesses in the future, many performers fear that the genie is already
01:36out of the bottle.
01:37For example, one only has to look at what Ned Luke and Roger Clark have been dealing
01:41with to understand why voice artists are so on edge about AI.
01:45In a fiery rant on X, formerly Twitter, Ned Luke called out people using a copy of his
01:50voice, quote, to create bulls—, racist rants, etc. to try to get him canceled.
01:56Ned Luke shared a post on X, which has since been deleted, from AI and blockchain firm
02:01Wayme, which unveiled a new chatbot based on Luke's GTA 5 character, Michael DeSanto.
02:08The company erroneously referred to Michael as the main character from GTA 4, which only
02:13added fuel to the fire.
02:15After seeing this company promoting a chatbot using an AI-generated copy of his voice and
02:20not even getting the details of his role correct, Luke took Wayme to task.
02:25Luke posted,
02:26"'This is f—ing bulls—, Wayme.
02:28Absolutely nothing cool about ripping people off with some lame computer estimation of
02:32my voice.
02:34Don't waste your time on this garbage.'"
02:36Commiserating with his fellow Rockstar performer, Red Dead Redemption 2 voice actor Roger Clark
02:41reassured Ned Luke that no chatbot could ever replace the real thing entirely.
02:47"'Exactly.'"
02:48To this, Luke responded, quote,
02:50"'I'm not worried about being replaced, Roger.'"
02:53Luke explained that he's just furious over this general practice, and he's worried that
02:57their, quote,
02:58"'f—ing union' is so damn weak that this will soon be an issue on legit work, and not
03:02just a matter of smaller companies copying their voices for monetary gain.'"
03:07Roger Clark revealed that he is also dealing with people using copies of his voice to create
03:12racist diatribes.
03:14Clark wrote,
03:15"'I don't trust our union to do anything.
03:18What I do trust is for the politicians to get up off their asses and do something once
03:22it starts happening to them come election season.'"
03:26Although Wayme has not directly participated in the kind of racist behavior Luke is calling
03:30out, his concern is that unauthorized voice clones like the one that Wayme was promoting
03:35could theoretically be used by any number of unscrupulous parties.
03:39If people on the internet can't tell the difference between a real recording of Ned Luke and an
03:44AI created for simile, Luke could get in a lot of trouble when others almost literally
03:49put words in his mouth.
03:51Luke isn't alone in this sphere, as concerns over the ethics of AI usage in the entertainment
03:56industry were major contributing factors in last year's SAG-AFTRA strike.
04:01In the wake of Ned Luke's criticism, Wayme has removed all posts promoting the Michael
04:05DeSanto chatbot and has released a statement about the matter.
04:09It reads,
04:10This incident has highlighted the intricate interplay between the advancement of AI technology
04:15and the ethical and legal realms.
04:18Wayme commits to protecting the rights of voice actors and creators while advancing
04:23ethical AI practices.
04:25The company also pointed to its quick response and withdrawal of the chatbot as an example
04:33of its dedication to preserving a good relationship between working actors and companies like
04:38this one.
04:40However, its team fans aren't exactly buying what Wayme is selling.
04:44Comments on the firm's Twitter account have been limited, but replies to this statement
04:48are mostly accusing the company of not taking any responsibility for the distress it caused
04:53Ned Luke by approximating his vocal likeness without permission.
04:58One frustrated reply reads,
05:00This statement is rambling, self-contradictory, and smeared in legalese.
05:05Do better.