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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Voice Over Auditions Created With AI Are Arriving On Casting Sites. Is This Ethical? June 13, 2023  By J. Michael CollinsVoice Actor, Coach, Demo Producer I recently came across a discussion in one of the online forums about
a trend on one of the super-low-budget casting platforms: voice actors
having their human-voiced work rejected by the buyer because the buyer
believes it was created with an AI voice model. Now, I make it my purpose to stay abreast of conversations in all
corners of the industry, and even though the platform in question is not
one where I participate, the discussion raises a larger point. As synthetic voice technology improves, there will naturally be voice
actors who look at deploying a voice clone to perform auditions
(especially on casting sites and for other lower-budget work) - and even
actual jobs, as a means of improving efficiency and maximizing revenue
and productivity. In fact, there has already been discussion of this
being done on more mainstream platforms like Voice123 and others.
Which, of course, begs the question: Is it ethical? EVEN BUYERS COMPLAIN The discussion regarding the super-low-budget platform centered
around a growing dissatisfaction among buyers (and mind you this is
occurring in the micro-budget space, so one can only assume that the
reaction would be amplified among higher-dollar buyers), with voice
actors trying to game the system with voice models. Apparently this is
so prevalent that even actual human-voiced work is now falling under
suspicion. This is telling, of course. If even Fiverr-level buyers are
rejecting synthetic voices, then all of the industry panic may well be
more of an overreaction than I've previously suggested. More importantly, though, it leads to a dilemma with regard to the
morality of using AI voice clones to audition for jobs or deliver them
without clearly disclosing this is what one is doing. WILL AI AUDITIONS EXPLODE? Here's what bodalgo CEO Armin Hierstetter had to say when I asked for a comment for this article:
So, I ask, what do you think? Is it ethical to audition with a voice
clone without disclosing it? Should casting sites ban the practice?
Leave your comments below! --------------------------- ABOUT J. MICHAEL In more than 20 years as a professional voice actor, J. Michael Collins has worked with many of the world's largest companies, brands, sports leagues and organizations - in both the classic agency-based VO world and online casting marketplace, where he has become a leading authority. He is also recognized as an industry-leading voice over coach and award-winning demo producer, and is a multi-time Voice Arts Award nominee and winner as voice actor, demo producer, script writer and casting director. Through their company Ace Events, J. Michael and his wife Anna Alcasas-Collins present the annual VO Atlanta Voiceover Conference and Euro Voiceover Retreats, and partner with Gravy for the Brain in presenting the annual One Voice USA Conference. Email: jmichael@jmcvoiceover.com Web: www.jmcvoiceover.com |
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I guess the question for me is a very old one: "What does it profit a man if he gains the world, but loses his own soul?"