‘Halo’ Actor Steve Downes Would not Need You to AI Clone HIs Voice

Steve Downes, the longtime voice actor of Halo protagonist Grasp Chief, has referred to as on followers to not use generative AI to copy his voice.

In a YouTube AMA, Downes admitted that he’s seen movies on-line the place his voice has been recreated utilizing the controversial expertise. Whereas he typically considers voice cloning to be “innocent,” he acknowledged that it might simply backslide and “deprive an actor of [their] work.”

As such, he would favor “it not be finished [to me]. There’s plenty of fan tasks which can be actually cool and finished simply from the center. However while you get to the AI half and deceiving any individual that these are traces I really spoke…that’s the place we cross a line that will get into an space I’m uncomfortable with.”

Latest years have seen voice actors specific concern about using generative AI in VO. Final yr, a leaked Sony take a look at demo featured a take a look at bot that had the voice of Aloy, the lead of the Horizon video games, that was made with genAI. Aloy’s actor Ashly Burch then launched a video saying she’d been knowledgeable that the Aloy bot was purely for demonstrative functions and wasn’t made utilizing her face or voice information. Even so, she mentioned she was “frightened” concerning the artwork type of sport performances and the way this expertise might have an effect on voice actors beneath her.

Halo is owned by Xbox, whose dad or mum firm Microsoft has been regularly going all-in on generative AI in its manufacturing pipeline and merchandise. It’s partnered with generative AI firms to create tools meant to help with sides of sport growth, which has garnered criticism amongst builders and gamers. It’s been murky whether or not the upcoming Halo: Marketing campaign Developed was made with genAI: final yr, an insider alleged it was, however Halo Studios has been considerably evasive, as an alternative saying there was no requirement to make use of expertise a few of its workers think about “a device in a toolbox.”

[via IGN]

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