Sir David Attenborough ‘Profoundly Disturbed’ by AI Clones of His Voice

Sir David Attenborough has issued a strongly worded statement criticizing the many AI voice clones that mimic the world-famous broadcaster, calling it identity theft.

A BBC report demonstrated how AI-generated voice clones of the 98-year-old Sir David Attenborough were indistinguishable from the real thing, and could be used to read out the news.

In response, Sir David said he was “profoundly disturbed” that AI was being used to have him say pretty much anything.

“Having spent a lifetime trying to speak what I believe to be the truth, I am profoundly disturbed to find these days my identity is being stolen by others and greatly object to them using it to say whatever they wish,” he said.

The emergence of generative AI has brought with it a number of ethical concerns surrounding the impersonation of real people without their permission. AI voice clones are being used to put words into the mouth of celebrities and even recreate the deceased without consent.

In the BBC report, Dr Jennifer Williams, a researcher of AI audio at the University of Southampton, expressed concern about the lack of safeguards or a regulatory framework to guarantee an AI-generated voice is uniquely different from a real person’s, and the resulting potential for misinformation.

“It sounds like Sir David to me,” Dr Williams said. “I’m a little disgusted. This is very serious. When you have a trusted voice like Sir David Attenborough who all around the world people recognize him as an authority, as a voice of truth, and then to have words put in his mouth about war, politics and things that he has never said or may not ever endorse, is very concerning.”

In October 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 May this year, Black Widow actress Scarlett Johansson revealed she had denied a request from OpenAI founder Sam Altman to use her voice as ChatGPT’s ‘Sky’ voice, then was “shocked, angered, and in disbelief” upon hearing a demo for Sky that sounded “eerily similar” to her voice. Johansson then hired legal counsel and asked for an explanation before OpenAI “reluctantly” agreed to remove the ChatGPT voice option.

Voice actors have previously called out AI-generated explicit Skyrim mods, and 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.

Photo by John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.