Steve Downes, the longtime voice actor of Halo protagonist Master Chief, has called on fans not to use generative AI to replicate his voice.
In a YouTube AMA, Downes admitted that he’s seen videos online where his voice has been recreated using the controversial technology. While he generally considers voice cloning to be “harmless,” he acknowledged that it could easily backslide and “deprive an actor of [their] work.”
As such, he would prefer “it not be done [to me]. There’s a lot of fan projects that are really cool and done just from the heart. But when you get to the AI part and deceiving somebody that these are lines I actually spoke…that’s where we cross a line that gets into an area I’m uncomfortable with.”
Recent years have seen voice actors express concern about the use of generative AI in VO. Last year, a leaked Sony test demo featured a test bot that had the voice of Aloy, the lead of the Horizon games, that was made with genAI. Aloy’s actor Ashly Burch then released a video saying she’d been informed that the Aloy bot was purely for demonstrative purposes and wasn’t made using her face or voice data. Even so, she said she was “worried” about the art form of game performances and how this technology could affect voice actors below her.
Halo is owned by Xbox, whose parent company Microsoft has been gradually going all-in on generative AI in its production pipeline and products. It’s partnered with generative AI companies to create tools meant to assist with facets of game development, which has garnered criticism among developers and players. It’s been murky whether the upcoming Halo: Campaign Evolved was made with genAI: last year, an insider alleged it was, but Halo Studios has been somewhat evasive, instead saying there was no requirement to use technology some of its staff consider “a tool in a toolbox.”
[via IGN]
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