AI-cloned versions of legendary British broadcaster David Attenborough’s voice are proliferating online – and he’s not happy about it. “I have spent a lifetime trying to speak what I believe to be the truth,” said the 98-year-old naturalist and Planet Earth The narrator told BBC News: “I am deeply disturbed to see my identity being stolen by others these days – and I strongly object to them using it to say whatever they want.”

BBC News discovered multiple sites offering AI-generated versions of Attenborough’s stentorian voice that are often indistinguishable from the real thing, and in one case provided news stories about Donald Trump and NATO – topics far removed from Attenborough’s lifelong nature documentary work.

Dr. Jennifer Williams, an AI audio researcher at the University of Southampton, told BBC News she was deeply concerned about the misuse of Attenborough’s trusted voice. “When you have a trusted voice (that) people recognize as an authority, as a voice of truth, and then put words in his mouth about war, politics and things he never said or may never endorse – that’s very terribly. concerns,” she said.

The controversy highlights how easily accessible voice cloning technology has become. “Anyone could make a clone of David Attenborough’s voice,” Williams explained, noting that these tools are available for free online.

Some celebrities and their estates have allowed legal use of their voices. A company called ElevenLabs offers licensed versions of Jerry Garcia, Judy Garland, Maya Angelou, Burt Reynolds, James Dean and Sir Laurence Olivier as narrators for books and articles.

The real Attenborough is currently narrating the seven-part BBC series Asiain which nature on Earth’s largest continent is explored.