AI-generated voices could soon become a regular feature in advertising following a landmark agreement between the SAG-AFTRA actors union and an AI startup called Narrativ.
Narrativ describes itself as a “marketplace for advertisers to buy talent likeness,”, providing replica audio solutions for companies who want to feature familiar voices in their content.
The initiative appears to draw a line under recent concerns about AI and voice imitation, and following the Hollywood strikes of 2023, there is now mutual agreement between the two bodies on the way forward.
The agreement means actors will now be compensated fairly and will retain relative control of their digital voices, described as a “safe option” to license their vocal assets.
“Narrativ has agreed to our terms, and its platform is an excellent example of how AI can be ethically used, by putting compensation, informed consent, and control in the hands of individual performers.” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s executive director, said in a statement.
“Not all members will be interested in taking advantage of the opportunities that licensing their digital voice replicas might offer, and that’s understandable” he said, “but for those who do, you now have a safe option.”
Exciting News! SAG-AFTRA Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland announces our groundbreaking partnership with Narrativ, setting a new standard for ethical AI use. Learn how we're empowering #SagAftraMembers to control their digital audio replicas. pic.twitter.com/Z6ltOwMn98
— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) August 14, 2024
Performers must consent to their voice being used in advertising
After the 2012 merger of the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Actors unions, the collective guild represents around 160,000 media professionals across the world, underlining the depth of content Narrativ will now have access to.
As said by Crabtree-Ireland, Narrativ reportedly agreed to concessions to reach a consensus. Advertisers will be required to disclose to performers what their AI clones will say and promote, with a veto included to turn the brand down if they choose.
If a campaign is approved, the SAG-AFTRA actor will be able to set the price and negotiate if they believe they should be earning more.
Earlier this year, Scarlett Johansson underlined the concern and suspicion many actors held toward AI when she faced down OpenAI for using a voice allegedly very similar to hers in its GPT-40 model.
Featured image via Ideogram
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