David Attenborough, the legendary natural history presenter, is rallying against artificial intelligence – unauthorized cloning, specifically.
The broadcaster and naturalist said he was “deeply disturbed” after receiving notice from the BBC that his voice had been cloned by AI creators.
The situation arose when BBC News ran an article using the voiceover from Attenborough’s latest BBC series. Asia. He says in the clip: “If you think you’ve seen the best the natural world has to offer, think again. There is no other place on earth with so many untold stories. So welcome to Asia.”
The BBC then played the same clip and asked viewers if they could hear any differences. Evidence: They sounded almost identical, but the second was an AI-generated capture of the tone of his voice.
The cloned voice is said to be used in news reports on YouTube channels such as The Intellectualist on issues such as the Ukrainian-Russian war and Donald Trump.
Attenborough told the BBC: “Having spent my life trying to say what I think is the truth, I am deeply disturbed to find these days that my identity is being stolen by others and I strongly object to them using it to say what they want.”
The creator of the Attenborough clone, using his voice again, responded: “Let’s set the record straight. Unless Mr. Attenborough is secretly working for us, under an alias with a US work permit, he is not on our payroll. I am not David Attenborough. We’re both male British voices for sure, but I’m not David Attenborough to anyone who might be confused.
AI versions of Attenborough’s instantly recognizable voice have appeared over recent months on sites like YouTube, placed over content he clearly did not participate in creating. While those who created the clones don’t believe there is any harm in extracting voices to create near-perfect versions of public figures, many believe they violate copyright and privacy.
In the United States, the issue of look-alike cloning last year led to the creation of the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, Keep Entertainment Safe, or Counterfeit Prevention Act, a bipartisan bill that would hold those who make clones accountable for their actions. It was introduced as a bill in August.
AI has been among the most pressing issues in the labor strikes of writers and actors. Earlier this year, an OpenAI voice named “Sky” was pulled shortly after its launch after Scarlett Johansson objected to the likeness of her voice. She issued a statement saying that OpenAI founder Sam Altman reached out to her about using her voice, and went ahead with the plan despite her rejection of the offer. She added that the company “reluctantly” removed the voice once legal action was threatened.
We reached out to Attenborough’s representatives, but they declined to comment further.
Asia is a series of seven concerts for BBC One and iPlayer that launched on November 3. It is produced by BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit and co-produced with BBC America, France Télévisions and ZDF.