Erica Lindbeck, the voice actor best known for her work in games such asPersona,Final Fantasy,Fire Emblem, andMortal Kombathas leftTwitter. This comes after an online feud with a content creator that used her voice in an AI-generated video, something she had strongly opposed.Lindbeck called on her followers to report this and similar videos, since it uses her voicework forPersona 5in a way she did not consent to. The video’s creator hit back, accusing Lindbeck of starting an “harassing campaign” over a “dumb but harmless Futaba AI cover video”. This appears to have prompted Lindbeck’s decision to leave Twitter, and it’s not clear when, or if, she’ll be back.Related:Unity AI Is Democratising The Ability To Rip Game Developers And Artists OffWhile the subject is proving divisive, both fans and fellow voice actors are rushing to Lindbeck’s defence. This was only exacerbated when the video’s creator argued that asking fans to report AI content was an harassment campaign, a characterisation most appear to disagree with. Although the creator has their own supporters too, reuploading the video once it was taken down.
The video that sparked this online spat is something most of us are used to seeing on social media by now - AI-generated voice lines, making it so a person or character is acting out a scene or covering a song. In this case, it was an AI cover of Futaba singing Welcome to the Internet by Bo Burnham. Reuploads are still on YouTube, and it’s pretty convincing. To some, it could definitely pass as official voice work, so it’s easy to see why actors are disturbed by this technology - on both a professional and personal level.
Mike Pollock, the longtime voice actor of Eggman in theSonicseries, is one of many defending Lindbeck. In the replies, he photoshopped an image of the AI cover’s creator tweeting: “I eat puppies!” - arguing that putting words in someone’s mouth like this is the same as making a voice actor say something with AI.
Unfortunately, we’re likely to see more controversies like this pop up as AI tech becomes better at imitating human voices. Right now, the conversation is largely dominated by those debating the ethics of AI writing and artwork. However, the recent boom in AI covers showcases the advancements being made with this tech, something that poses an obvious threat to voice actors. Particularly those operating in the gaming industry, which hasalreadyprovento haveno hang-upswhen it comes to throwing humans under the bus and replacing them with bots.
It remains to be seen if Lindbeck rejoins Twitter, but in the meantime, it appears that she has a lot of supporters in her corner. The creator of the original video, on the other hand, has been suspended, although it’s not clear why.
