As technology continues to improve, actors and voice actors across the entertainment industry are wondering what impact AI will have on their careers.
Will Actors Be Replaced By Robots?
From all corners of the business, the fear is palpable. Will we be replaced by robots? The concern is so intense that the mere association of an actor with emerging artificial intelligence technology is enough to send the Twitterverse into a panic, as well-known voiceover star Troy Baker recently found out. Baker partnered with Voiceverse NFT, which is looking to sell NFTs through the Ethereum blockchain. Part of Voiceverse’s service includes an AI component that allows users to recreate a specific voice.
MEGAThe backlash to Baker’s involvement with Voiceverse is but one example of the vitriol that this topic generates, and not without cause. Voiceover talent Bev Standing, an 8-time Voice Arts Award nominee and a nominee for the prestigious Unicorn Award for high character presented at the VO Atlanta industry conference, discovered only by accident that she was the original voice of TikTok. TikTok and their parent company had purchased an AI model of Bev’s voice from a third party without her knowledge, and suddenly TikTokkers everywhere were making Bev say….well, anything! This predictably led to Bev filing a complaint which was followed by an out-of-court settlement. However, for every Bev, there are a dozen other voice actors having their voices used without consent or compensation.
Protecting themselves from having their voice or likeness stolen in the form of an AI-generated clone is the first order of business for many actors today, but a bigger question looms: Will the technology make human actors expendable?
Humans Have The Creative Edge
The good news is that no matter how good AI technology gets, it can only be as good as the actors it is based upon, not better. Moreover, while budget-conscious buyers will very likely be willing to compromise on quality or nuance to save money, not every buyer of talent in the entertainment industry is focused primarily on budget. Indeed, quality-centric buyers are going to be far less likely to sacrifice the alacrity and subtlety that a real actor can bring to an on-camera or voice performance just to save a few bucks.
MEGAAdditionally, the technology in question is not seamless. There’s a perception out there that all you have to do is drop in a script and, presto change-o, a perfect performance comes out. This is far from the case. A director or producer will need to go through an AI interface line by line, making adjustments in tone, emphasis, pitch, and emotion. While this may be intuitive to creatives in spaces where they are hands-on with technology all day, many buyers will find this process tedious. After all, why spend an hour inputting direction for a robot voiceover when a human actor can give you numerous takes with varying delivery approaches in a fraction of the time? When quality matters, the real thing, us, will always have the upper hand.
The Future of AI In Hollywood
The next time you have an NFT nightmare or find yourself in a panic over the AI-pocalypse, take a moment instead to reflect on human nature. In the end, we are social animals. We celebrate the diversity of our stories that inform our performances. It seems very unlikely that we would suddenly surrender such a rich tapestry of art to the soulless void of machinery.
J. Michael Collins has over twenty years of experience as a professional voice actor working with some of the biggest companies, brands, sports leagues, and organizations in the world. He has become recognized as a leading voice talent coach and voice-over demo producer as well. J. Michael has won numerous awards as a voice actor, demo producer, scriptwriter, and casting director.
