Voice acting isn’t a bad gig. Actors can find work across ads, video games, animated series, podcasts, and more — and the pay’s not bad. The average voice artist earns ~$37/hr, per Backstage, and many can work remotely from home studios.
Unfortunately, voice acting is also a job under threat from AI.
Historically…
… asking a computer to read something has resulted in narration that sounds exactly like you asked a computer to read something.
Yet new developments in generative AI have allowed bots to quickly pick up speech patterns and replicate realistic voices.
- CNN reporter Donie O’Sullivan used AI to fool his parents, though they did suspect something was off.
- This is not Morgan Freeman.
And Remie Michelle Clarke, an Irish voice artist whose clients include Microsoft and Mastercard, told The Washington Post that she discovered an AI voice model on Revoicer.com that sounded just like her.
How Revoicer works
Subscribers can access hundreds of voices that can be made to say anything in various emotions and accents for as little as $27/mo.
Revoicer claims the process is simpler and faster than hiring a human — plus, companies don’t have to pay extra for updates or redos.
What can actors do about it?
Besides taking solace in the fact that many AI clips still sound stilted and unbelievable?
Not much… yet. While Universal Music Group got YouTube to scrub videos of AI-generated Eminem and Drake, voice actors typically don’t command the same celebrity.
There are also no copyright laws protecting voices from AI, and many contracts allow companies to reuse and sell voices.
Revoicer said it got Michelle Clarke’s voice via a licensing agreement with Microsoft — but agreed to remove it after WaPo reached out.
Plus side: AI voices are helping people who have difficulty speaking. Quips is a tool that allows ALS patients to record and “bank” their voice to create a synthetic voice for future use.
