Two voice actors sue AI companies for alleged breach of contract and cloning of their voices

Two voice actors are suing an artificial intelligence startup in a proposed class action lawsuit in federal court for violating trademark rights in order to train their AI.

Paul Skey Lehrman and Linnea Sage were hired by Lovo, an AI company, in 2019 and 2020 to provide voice clips for what they described as internal research.

“They assured me three times in writing that the information and its location would be used solely for internal purposes and would never be shared with third parties,” Lehrman said.

But two years later, Lehrman said, he was shocked to hear his voice in a YouTube video and later in a podcast he never recorded.

“My voice is out there saying things I never said, in places I didn’t want to be involved in,” he said. “We are now in science fiction come true.”

Shock turned to outrage as the actors dug deeper, saying the startup cloned both Lehrman and Sage’s voices, violating their respective contracts.

Lovo touts an “AI voice clone tool” that lets users upload or record an audio sample that will be converted into a custom voice clone. Experts say there are no federal laws regulating the use of AI to mimic a person’s voice.

“We need federal protection of AI likeness, and we need it today,” said Ryan Schmidt of the Bowen Law Group. “We need a unified legal system that protects not just public figures and celebrities, but virtually every person and citizen of America, because AI can clone and replicate anyone.”

Lehrman and Sage said their voices were their livelihood and were now being stolen by AI.

“I’m incredibly pessimistic about the future of voiceover,” Sage said. “So far this year, I’ve lost 75% of the work I would have normally done. And I expect that to get worse.”

“This is about protecting people whose voices can be exploited,” Lehrman added. “And unfortunately that’s everyone.”

Lovo did not respond to CBS News’ multiple requests for comment.

The dispute between Lehrman and Sage is the latest in AI. In May Scarlett Johansson was “shocked, angry and incredulous” after OpenAI’s ChatGPT sounded like her. Johansson had turned down OpenAI founder Sam Altman’s offer to voice ChatGPT’s text-to-speech product. Altman said the voice was not Johansson’s.

AI was a central theme in the SAG-AFTRA strike last year. A new actors’ contract includes restrictions on artificial intelligence. Television and film producers must obtain the actors’ consent to use a digital recreation, and they are also entitled to compensation for that use.