Gayanne Potter is one among Britain’s most recognisable voices – behind adverts for the likes of Estee Lauder, Apple, LBC radio, and B&Q.
Now, a man-made intelligence (AI) model of her voice is getting used on Scotland’s nationalised practice community, ScotRail.
However the skilled voiceover artist says she had no thought she had been reworked right into a robotic till a good friend referred to as her final week.
“My voice is my job, and I should be allowed to know who I am working with and what I am working on.”
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Ms Potter’s voice has been utilized in adverts for the likes of Estee Lauder, Apple, LBC radio, and B&Q
Ms Potter, who lives on the outskirts of Edinburgh, believes the incident will be traced again to a job she accomplished through the COVID pandemic with Swedish firm ReadSpeaker, the place she recorded scripts for the visually impaired.
Ms Potter alleges she was unaware the contract allowed her voice to be bought as a part of AI years later.
Responding to issues, ReadSpeaker insisted there was a “very clear contract” that enables it to “use… synthesised voices for businesses and organisations”.
ScotRail unveiled its new AI announcer, nicknamed “Iona”, on board the railway community in Scotland this month.
The brand new know-how has drawn criticism for mispronouncing place names, with officers asking the general public to “give it time”.
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Ms Potter says she had no thought she had been reworked right into a robotic till a good friend referred to as her final week
She mentioned: “I literally didn’t know. ScotRail never approached me, ReadSpeaker never approached me.
“ScotRail have mentioned it’s not an actual particular person. It’s a actual particular person, and I’m proper right here.
“This is a real threat. I have worked really hard for the past 20 years and built trust with clients I work with. And now to have my voice in this dreadful robot is demeaning to me.”
She added: “I do not consent to my voice data being used. To find out that my personal human data is being used on the trains is appalling.
“I really feel like my knowledge is being burgled. I’ve no management over it.”
Union Fairness, which represents employees within the inventive industries, helps Ms Potter struggle her case.
Liam Budd, industrial official for recorded media at Fairness, mentioned: “It is extremely exploitative for companies to use and commercialise voice recordings to create digital replicas of artists from contracts which pre-date the development of generative AI or were not drafted explicitly for this purpose.
“Gayanne is instantly competing in a market with a low-quality clone of her personal voice that she claims was developed with out her knowledgeable and specific consent.
“Not only is this distressing for her, but it would represent an infringement of our members’ data protection and other rights.”
He mentioned the agency was conscious of Ms Potter’s issues, including: “ReadSpeaker and Ms Potter have a contract regarding the use of her voice.
“ReadSpeaker has comprehensively addressed Ms Potter’s issues together with her authorized consultant a number of occasions up to now.”
ScotRail, which is owned by the Scottish authorities, mentioned it had “no plans” to take away its “Iona” AI announcer voice system and rejected questions on Ms Potter’s issues.
Phil Campbell, ScotRail buyer operations director, mentioned: “We are always looking at ways to improve the customer journey experience, and we know how important both on-train and at-station announcements are.
“Using an automatic voice permits us to have extra management over the bulletins being made, ensures consistency for purchasers, and offers us flexibility to make adjustments at quick discover.”
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “Whereas sub-contracts are a matter for ScotRail, the Scottish authorities expects it, as a publicly managed organisation, to make sure all agreements entered into are inside the parameters of Public Sector Procurement steerage and meet Honest Work ideas.
“This includes the use of AI technology.”
