Morgan Freeman denounces “unauthorized” AI imitations of his voice

Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more aggressive and taking over all major fields. Although AI is not necessarily bad and could replace boring, repetitive tasks, its use in art has sparked great controversy, especially when it comes to unauthorized use. In one case, AI used a voice that sounded like the famous voice of Morgan Freeman.

Morgan Freeman is famous for his distinctive, soothing voice, which he has used in many voice acting roles, commercials, and documentaries. However, the actor has posted a note criticizing the AI ​​usage of his voice on X. A recent trend online sparked debate when TikTok creator justinescameraroll used AI to imitate the 87-year-old actor’s voice and narrate videos, claiming to be his “Nepo niece.”

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“Thank you to my incredible fans for their vigilance and support in exposing the unauthorized use of an AI voice imitating me,” the actor told his fans.”Your commitment helps ensure that authenticity and integrity remain our top priority. We are grateful.” He also added the hashtags “#AI #scam #imitation #IdentityProtection”.

This came in the wake of Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit against OpenAI over its AI voice assistant Sky, which resembled the actress’ voice. Speaking about the controversy, Johansson explained last September that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman approached her and asked to use her voice, but she refused. Her refusal was not the end of the story, as the AI ​​company continued with the project, using a voice that closely resembled hers.

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What’s next for Morgan Freeman?

The Oscar winner has been working for decades and is not going to stop anytime soon. When he is not commenting on the AI ​​controversy, the actor has more exciting projects ahead of him. Among them is the highly anticipated sequel to Now you see Me Franchise.

The actor’s last role was in the comedy-drama My dead friend Zoewhich also starred Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales and Ed Harris. He also plays in the action film gunnerwhose main author is Dimitri Logothetis and which was written by The Fast and the Furious‘ Gary Scott Thompson. The film, which also stars Luke Hemsworth, is currently in post-production. In Ben Tishler’s drama I hate to see you gohe also plays the ageing Chicago blues musician Sonny Bell. In the film, Freeman’s character embarks on another adventure with his blues band. The film also stars Bill Burr, Alfre Woodard, Common and Trevor Jackson. Morgan Freeman will also appear in the English remake of the 2010 Swiss film. The small bedroom alongside Kate Mara and Laurence Fishburne.

After many years of development, Now You See Me 3 will also bring back Morgan Freeman as Thaddeus Bradley. The first film premiered in 2013, the second followed in 2016, and talks about a new installment began soon after. It was not until 2023 that new definitive plans for Now You See Me 3 were confirmed, although the plot and release date were still unknown at the time of publication.

Source: X

Now you see Me

director

Louis Leterrier

Release date

31 May 2013

Pour

Woody Harrelson, Mélanie Laurent, Jesse Eisenberg, Michael Caine, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, Common, Isla Fisher, Mark Ruffalo

Duration

115 minutes