In a new escalation of the growing controversy over voice rights in the age of artificial intelligence, veteran American broadcaster David Greene has filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing it of using a voice in its NotebookLM tool that closely resembles his own.
According to The Washington Post, Green, known for hosting NPR's Morning Edition for years, said he became suspicious after receiving repeated messages from friends, colleagues, and family members pointing out the striking similarity between his voice and the male voice used in the tool.
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Green explained that the AI-generated voice not only sounds like him, but also mimics his rhythm, intonation, and even his use of certain interjections such as "uh," considering that his voice represents the essence of his professional and personal identity.
Green currently hosts the program "Left, Right, & Center" on KCRW.
Google's NotebookLM tool allows users to create podcast-style audio content with virtual hosts powered by artificial intelligence.
However, the company denied any connection between the voice used and Green, confirming through a spokesperson that the male voice in the "Audio Overviews" feature is based on the performance of a professional actor who was hired on a paid basis.
The issue brings to the fore the problem of the intersection of voice generation technologies with property rights and personal identity, a matter that has already sparked widespread controversy.
In a notable incident, OpenAI was forced to withdraw one of ChatGPT's voices after actress Scarlett Johansson objected, claiming that the voice mimicked her performance without permission.
With the rapid development of voice cloning technologies, legal disputes over "voice identity" are likely to increase as tech companies seek to expand the use of artificial intelligence in media production and audio content.