Title: Voice Actors Sue AI Company for Unauthorized Use of Their Voices
Last summer, voice actors Paul Skye Lehrman and Linnea Sage were shocked to discover that a chatbot named Poe, created by a start-up in Berkeley, Calif. called Lovo, sounded exactly like Lehrman. The couple, who make their living as voice actors, are now suing Lovo for illegally using recordings of their voices to create technology that could potentially replace them in the job market.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, alleges that Lovo violated federal trademark law and state privacy laws by promoting clones of Lehrman and Sage’s voices without their consent. The couple, along with their lawyer Steve Cohen, are seeking class-action status and inviting other voice actors to join the suit.
This case is the first of its kind, according to SAG-AFTRA, the labor union representing media professionals worldwide. Jeffrey Bennett, the general counsel for SAG-AFTRA, emphasized the importance of protecting the rights of voice actors and other creators in the face of advancing AI technology.
Lehrman and Sage’s ordeal began in 2019 when they were contacted by anonymous individuals who paid them for voice recordings without disclosing how the recordings would be used. It wasn’t until Lehrman heard a YouTube video narrated by a voice that sounded like his that they realized their voices had been cloned by Lovo.
The couple discovered that Lovo had used their voices to train its technology, which is used to create voice clones for various purposes. Despite sending a cease-and-desist letter to Lovo, Lehrman and Sage are concerned that the company’s software has already been downloaded by numerous customers and could still be used to generate voice clones of them.
Through their lawsuit, Lehrman and Sage hope to regain control over their voices and careers, as well as raise awareness about the potential threats AI technology poses to creative professionals. Their case serves as a cautionary tale for others in the entertainment industry who may be at risk of having their work exploited by AI companies.
