Morgan Freeman is the latest actor unhappy with AI trying to mimic his voice without his permission.
In a conversation with The Guardian, published Monday, the actor explained that he was “PO’d” about the surge of AI creating likenesses of his iconic voice without his permission or paying for the privilege. It has got to the point where his lawyers are being kept busy.
“I’m a little PO’d, you know,” Freeman said. “I’m like any other actor: don’t mimic me with falseness. I don’t appreciate it and I get paid for doing stuff like that, so if you’re gonna do it without me, you’re robbing me.”
Freeman added that his lawyers had already uncovered “quite a few” instances of his voice being used and replicated without the actor’s permission. Those searches have kept them occupied looking for more.
“Well, I tell you, my lawyers have been very, very busy,” he said
While Freeman adds his voice to a number of actors decrying the technology, others are embracing it. Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine recently partnered with AI audio company ElevenLabs to generate virtual AI versions of their voices.
McConaughey – who has invested an undisclosed sum into the company and worked with them since 2022 – will be using the company’s technology to generate a Spanish-language version of his “Lyrics of Livin’” newsletter. Caine is lending his voice to company’s Iconic Voice Marketplace, which allows interested parties to request approval to use the platform’s voices for their respective projects. Other names in the Marketplace include Judy Garland, John Wayne, Laurence Olivier, Liza Minelli, Lana Turner, Maya Angelou, Burt Reynolds and Babe Ruth.
“Since our first conversation, I’ve been impressed by how the ElevenLabs team has taken the magic of the core technology and turned it into products that creators, enterprises and storytellers use daily,” McConaughey said in a statement.
He added: “To everyone building with voice technology: keep going. You’re helping create a future where we can look up from our screens and connect through something as timeless as humanity itself — our voices.”
