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Morgan Freeman shared a note thanking his fans on Friday morning, thanking users for their efforts to call out unauthorized AI imitations of the actor's recognizable voice.
The iconic 87-year-old actor has become a legend for his voice acting in films such as “March of the Penguins”, “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Million Dollar Baby”. Freeman's vocal prowess has made him a particularly popular target for AI-generated voice imitations, including in a recent viral series of TikToks featuring a woman posing as the actor's “nepo niece.” . Freeman isn't a fan of the practice.
“Thank you to my incredible fans for your vigilance and support in calling out the unauthorized use of an AI voice imitating me,” the actor wrote. “Your dedication helps keep authenticity and integrity paramount. Thank you. #AI #scam #imitation #IdentityProtection”
Freeman's representation had no further comment.
The actor's comments come at a time when AI simulations in the entertainment industry have faced scrutiny. Scarlett Johansson's legal team recently demanded OpenAI reveal how it built its AI personal voice assistant, Skye, and pulled the chatbot down for making sounds that closely resemble her own voice. Johansen said that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman approached him last September with a request to use his voice for ChatGPT conversations, but that he declined for “personal reasons.” The actor said last month that she was “shocked, angry and in disbelief” that the AI company had gone ahead and used a voice similar to hers after refusing to work with her.
Altman also reportedly asked his agent to reconsider two days before the Voice Assistant demo was released. The company stopped using the voice assistant, but said the voice was not an imitation of Johansson.
In April, Drake also came under fire from Tupac Shakur's estate for using an AI impersonation of the West Coast rapper on his song “Taylor Made Freestyle,” which dissed Kendrick Lamar. Howard King, who represented Shakur's estate, hit out at Drake, saying the song was a “blatant misappropriation of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time.”
The song also used an AI-generated verse from Snoop Dogg, who vaguely addressed the situation in an April 20 Instagram video, saying “What did they do? When? How? Do you Are you sure? Have a good night everyone.” Drake took the record down on April 26, a week after posting it.
Hollywood has begun pushing Congress to act on AI, but it's unclear what, if any, legislation to regulate the technology will be passed.