Morgan Freeman's celebrated baritone has been repurposed for projects the actor hasn't approved, and he's not happy about it. Freeman called out such unauthorized AI-powered voice clones in a post on X, thanking followers for alerting him and his team to where AI-replicated versions of his voice have appeared.
“Thank you to my amazing fans for their vigilance and support in reporting the unauthorized use of an AI voice imitating me,” Freeman posted, adding hashtags like “#scam,” “#imitation” and “#IdentityProtection.”
Thank you to my amazing followers for their vigilance and support in reporting the unauthorized use of an AI voice that mimics me. Your dedication helps ensure that authenticity and integrity remain paramount. Grateful. #AI #scam #imitation #IdentityProtectionJune 28, 2024
While Freeman doesn't specifically cite it, his post is likely a reference to a new video in a viral TikTok series where a substitute version of his voice narrates the activities of his “niece,” TikTok user @justinescameraroll, known as Justine.
@justinescameraroll ♬ water (instrumental) – no/vox and karaoke
Her “A Day in the Life of a Nepo Niece” videos have collectively racked up more than a million views from her 218,600 followers on TikTok and 123,000 on Instagram. She captioned her most recent post, in which she voice-overs a Freeman clone, with: “Uncle Mo has been busy and busy but I finally got him to narrate my trip!” A post of the video shared on X then reached 16.4 million people and may have sparked Freeman’s reaction depending on the timing.
Justine later confirmed in a follow-up video that her video did not feature Freeman's real voice, adding, “I was just having a little fun.”
Famous fakes
The iconic nature of Freeman’s voice means there’s plenty of interest in imitating it for everything from the aforementioned social media videos to full-on movie narrations. ElevenLabs created a voice specifically designed to mimic Freeman. For example, while the documentary “The Power of Chi” mentions Freeman as the narrator, and it’s on IMDB that way, Freeman never mentioned it. Plus, his voice in the film sounds more than a little off-key, as you can hear at the link. He may just be doing the work over the phone to collect a paycheck from the obscure documentary, or he may be an AI.
Freeman isn't the only celebrity concerned about AI-created versions of her face or voice being used without her permission. In May, actress Scarlett Johansson expressed anger after discovering an OpenAI chatbot that sounded eerily similar to her voice. Johansson, who played an AI assistant in the 2013 film His, The situation was particularly disturbing to them. OpenAI responded by announcing plans to discontinue use of the ChatGPT voice that resembled Johansson's, though without admitting any fault.
The same goes for videos, which use deepfakes of celebrities to try to trick people into believing that the famous person is endorsing the scam. Tom Hanks has had to alert his fans about a deepfake video of himself on social media. The same has been done by British consumer advice guide Martin Lewis, who has warned of a deepfake video that tries to trick people into sending money for a fraudulent investment.
The rapid advancement of AI has outpaced regulatory measures, leading to situations where people’s voices and images can be replicated without consent. Concerns about AI-generated impersonations are not limited to actors. AI music creation startups Suno and Udio are facing a lawsuit from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and major record labels for copyright infringement.
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