Steve Downes, the actor behind Master chief’s iconic voice, has said deceptive AI reproductions of his voice “cross a line that gets into an area I am uncomfortable with” — and he wants it to stop.
Speaking in an AMA on his YouTube channel, Downes acknowledged the inevitability of AI, and even described some fan-made projects as “really cool,” but hit out at unauthorized use of his voice.
“One of the things that can be overwhelming when it comes to attention from fans is when AI gets involved,” he said. “A lot of it is harmless I suppose, but some of it cannot be harmless. I’ve been very vocal about my feelings about the use of artificial intelligence, which on the one hand is inevitable and has many positive effects on not only show business but humanity in general, but it can also be a detriment. It can also be something that deprives the actor of his work.
“I’ve heard some things online in terms of AI and the reproduction of my voice that sounds like my voice that… like I said, most of the stuff I’ve seen is pretty harmless, but it can be not that way real quick. So, I’m not a proponent. I don’t like it. I would prefer that it not be done.
“There’s a lot of fan-made projects out there that are really cool, that are done just from the heart. But when you get to the AI part and deceiving somebody into thinking, in my case, that these are lines that I actually spoke when they’re not, that’s when we cross a line that gets into an area that I am uncomfortable with. I’ll go on the record with that.”
In the absence of significant law reform, AI deepfakes have exploded alongside the emergence of generative AI and its increasing accuracy and availability. And Downes is certainly not alone in complaining about how deceptive it can be for video game voice actors.
In 2023, voice actors spoke out on AI-generated NSFW Skyrim mods, which they said “should be seen as the violation it is.” Assassin’s Creed Syndicate voice actress Victoria Atkin called AI-generated mods the “invisible enemy we’re fighting right now” after discovering her voice was used by cloning software. Paul Eiding, the voice actor behind Colonel Campbell in the Metal Gear Solid series, also condemned its use.
It’s a significant problem in the world of TV and film, too. Last year, The Matrix and John Wick star Keanu Reeves hit out at AI deepfakes selling products without his permission, insisting “it’s not a lot of fun.” In July, it was reported that Reeves pays a company a few thousand dollars a month to get the likes of TikTok and Meta to take down imitators.
There have been a number of high-profile cases in which celebrities have complained publicly about fake adverts. In 2023, Tom Hanks warned fans that an AI version of his likeness was being used without his consent in an online advert for a dental plan. In 2024, Morgan Freeman thanked fans who alerted him to AI-generated imitations of his voice online after a series of videos created by someone posing as his niece went viral.
Xbox Games Series Tier List
Xbox Games Series Tier List
And last year, Jamie Lee Curtis was forced to appeal to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an Instagram post because she couldn’t get the company to pull an AI-generated ad that featured her likeness for “some bullshit that I didn’t authorize, agree to or endorse.”
Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
