David Attenborough: TV star slams ‘profoundly’ disturbing AI voice clone - what has he said?

• David Attenborough ‘greatly objects’ to his voice being cloned. 
• A BBC News segment found that his voice has been used by AI companies in the US. 
• The world famous TV presenter has expressed his outrage. 

Sir David Attenborough has spoken of being “profoundly disturbed” after it was revealed that an AI clone of his voice is being used without his permission. The world famous presenter and naturalist “greatly objects” to his voice being “stolen”. 

According to reports, Sir David is among the famous voices that have been copied by artificial intelligence and used by online outlets in America. The Independent says that an artificial version of his familiar tones is being used to deliver “partisan news bulletins” about topics that include the recent Presidential Election. 

The BBC aired a segment in which they compared the voice of Sir David with an AI clone version and the presenter commented that it was "incredibly close”. The artificially generated voice concludes by stating that: “I am not David Attenborough. We are both male, British voices for sure.” 

Sign up for our UK Today newsletter - for all your morning headlines.

David Attenborough ‘greatly objects’ to AI clones of his voice 

Deadline reports that in a statement to the BBC, Sir David said: “Having spent a lifetime trying to speak what I believe to be the truth, I am profoundly disturbed to find that these days, my identity is being stolen by others and greatly object to them using it to say whatever they wish.”

You can watch the segment from the BBC report in the embedded YouTube clip below. It may take a moment to load, so please be patient. 

‘There is a genuine reason to be worried’ 

Fans who watched the BBC report on YouTube, took to the comments to express their thoughts. And much of the sentiment echoed Sir David’s own concerns. 

One person wrote: “There is a high level of TRUST people attach to Sir David Attenborough's voice. So, there is a genuine reason to be worried.” 

Another suggested: “Honestly there needs to be a law that all AI generated images, audio and music be labelled as such. Fooling consumers into thinking they are observing another human being will become deceitful and dishonest.” 

A user added: “You should not be allowed to use someone else's voice without their consent, it's that simple.” 

Are you concerned about the rise of voice cloning - especially as warnings over scams have been issued. Share your thoughts by emailing me: [email protected].