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He has one of the most iconic and recognizable voices in broadcasting, but Sir David Attenborough has now become the latest person to fall victim to unauthorized AI audio cloning.

The BBC discovered the dupe and informed Sir Attenborough, who replied: “After a lifetime of trying to speak what I believe to be the truth, I am deeply disturbed to find my identity being stolen by others these days, and I have major objections to their use. to say what they want.”

The clone is so realistic that the BBC initially made a mistake in a broadcast about the incident by playing the real voice twice instead of the AI ​​voice for comparison.

The AI ​​voice is reportedly used to provide commentary on YouTube channels such as The Intellectualist on issues such as the war between Ukraine and Russia and Donald Trump winning the US elections.

The BBC also reported that one of the websites using Sir Attenborough’s voice had posted another clip clarifying his position, again using the naturalist’s voice.

“Let’s set the record straight. Unless Mr. Attenborough has been working for us secretly and under an assumed name with a work permit in the United States, he is not on our payroll. I’m no David Attenborough, we’re certainly both British male voices, but I’m no David Attenborough for anyone who might be confused.

In the segment, the BBC reporter spoke with Dr. Jennifer Williams, lecturer in AI audio at the University of Southampton, England, who explained that to get such an accurate replica of someone’s voice, people could “scrape” the internet for samples and make a model.

She also pointed out that there are currently no safeguards that guarantee that a synthetic voice is audibly different from a real person.

She suspected that the people who do this might see it as a “creative outlet” or for humorous purposes, or, even more disturbing, to spread disinformation and misinformation through a trusted, authoritative figure.

When asked how concerned we should be about the rise of AI clone voices, Dr. Williams: “I don’t think we should be in a state of fear and hide from the internet or from other conversations, but it is important to be aware that this technology exists.

“It didn’t exist a few years ago and it wasn’t in everyone’s hands for free online, so I think raising awareness about the issue, and just being aware of how the technology is developing and thinking about legal frameworks and regulatory frameworks That will help protect people, that’s what we need to do.”

However, she added that this particular case was “very serious” and that it had left her “disgusted.”

“When you have a trusted voice like Sir David Attenborough, who people around the world 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 agree, it is very worrying.

She also recommended a technique called the ‘sift method’ to avoid being fooled by AI.

“Stop, investigate the source, find other sources and then really think about what the context is here. So any time you see something that might be out of place, just stop, examine it, think about whether it’s supported by other types of evidence or other types of information sources, and then think about what the context is.”

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