Morgan Freeman has a signature voice; however, he is upset that AI is being used to replace him. The actor is known for having a calm and authoritative tone that has become Hollywood’s most recognised. In an interview about his new film and his long career, the 88-year-old actor expressed that AI Voice clones cross a line. He believes that they are taking work from real artists and are being used without permission.
Morgan Freeman slams AI impersonation of his voice
While discussing his voice being cloned via AI, Morgan Freeman explained his perspective. The actor 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.”
When asked if it was already happening to him, the actor revealed (via The Guardian), “Well, I tell you, my lawyers have been very, very busy.” They have already found cases and are pursuing them? “Many, yeah. Quite a few.”
Another factor in the whole AI uprising is that there are now actors who are entirely made of AI. He criticised the idea of synthetic performers. Freeman pointed to the recently unveiled AI actor Tilly Norwood as an example. He feels that it strips away work from real people who are actively seeking employment.
He expressed, “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 on television … The union’s job is to keep actors acting, so there’s going to be that conflict.”
Morgan Freeman framed an objection to his voice being used synthetically. He earns money performing voice work and acting, and thus, is against companies that would copy his vocal likeness without compensation. It was reported that the late James Earl Jones had agreed to have his voice replicated using AI. The decision came after Freeman stepped away from the role of Darth Vader. It was met with criticism on the actor’s behalf.
