Michael Caine gives AI company permission to clone his voice
Michael Caine has partnered with an AI company and given them permission to clone his voice, among a number of other high-profile actors who have also agreed to have their likenesses used.
The company ElevenLabs is working with a range of actors, both dead and alive, to launch a new so-called ‘Iconic Voice Marketplace’, where the voices of Hollywood stars can now be utilised for different commercial purposes.
Caine claimed in a statement that by allowing his voice to be cloned by AI, he is “helping others”, before adding (via Deadline), “ElevenLabs is at the very forefront of technology, using innovation not to replace humanity, but to celebrate it.”
The company also recently announced that Matthew McConaughey has made an investment in the business, although the financial details of this have not been revealed.
Despite the use of AI being an increasingly contentious issue within the entertainment industry, many living stars have signed up to the company, including Liza Minnelli and Art Garfunkel. In addition, ElevenLabs now also owns the rights to the voices of many Hollywood icons who have now passed away, including Judy Garland, who is Minelli’s mother, as well as John Wayne, and Laurence Olivier.
The issue of AI practices has been pulled into even sharper focus since ElevenLabs themselves settled a lawsuit last month with actors Karissa Vacker and Mark Boyett, who accused the company of misusing their voices.
However, the threat has also been highlighted more generally by the likes of Zelda Williams, who implored fans to stop making AI videos of her father, Robin Williams, by saying: “It’s NOT what he’d want.”
Scarlett Johansson also took a stand against the technology earlier this year, when an AI-generated video featuring her purportedly condemning Kanye West’s antisemitic views began to circulate on social media.
At the time, she responded by saying: “We must call out the misuse of AI, no matter its messaging, or we risk losing a hold on reality.”
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