Morgan Freeman Says AI Voice Cloning Without Consent Is “Robbing” Actors of Their Work
Unregulated AI use is getting out of hand in many areas, but especially in the entertainment industry. Actors from all over are voicing concerns about the use of AI-generated representations of their likeness, and there’s even been talks of AI having the potential to replace actors entirely. Even Morgan Freeman, an established and iconic Oscar-winner, isn’t immune to the woes of AI.
With over six decades of Hollywood experience under his belt, Freeman has done it all: he’s portrayed the President, Nelson Mandela, and even God himself. But now, he faces one of his biggest challenges yet – folks using AI tools to steal his voice and misrepresent him. It’s gotten to the point where the octogenarian Hollywood star has had to enlist his legal team to help navigate these instances of unauthorized AI use of his likeness.
Speaking in a recent interview with The Guardian, Freeman said “I’m a little PO’d, you know. I’m like any other actor: don’t mimic me with falseness. I don’t appreciate it and I get paid for doing stuff like that, so if you’re gonna do it without me, you’re robbing me.” Having one of the most iconic and resonant voices in Hollywood, Freeman is the target of many AI imitators, and has joined the ranks of several other prominent figures in the industry (including Scarlett Johansson and Emma Thompson) rejecting the use of AI in filmmaking, and calling for more worthwhile regulation efforts.
In another interview (with The Independent), Freeman noted that his lawyers are “very, very busy” actively sifting through cases of people using AI to clone the actor’s voice and image. He also touched on his opinion of Tilly Norwood, an entirely synthetic person (if that’s the right word) considered to be the first ever ‘AI-actor’. “Nobody likes her because she’s not real and that takes the part of a real person, so it’s not going to work out very well in the movies or in television…The union’s job is to keep actors acting, so there’s going to be that conflict.” Freeman isn’t the only one wary of Tilly Norwood and what she represents – many actors have come out to express their trepidation following news outlets’ claims that several talent agencies have shown genuine interest in signing Norwood, underlining growing concerns over how AI may shape the fate of the film industry.
Freeman is still positive about the future of filmmaking, though – and just a couple years shy of 90, the actor says he has no plans to retire anytime soon.
