Daughter of late comedian says popular AI voice clones of her dad are ‘disturbing’

THE daughter of comedian Robin Williams has slammed AI recreations of her late father’s voice, calling them “personally disturbing”.

In an Instagram story, actress and director Zelda Williams, noted the consequences of digital cloning in response to Hollywood’s efforts to inject AI into movie-making

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“I’ve witnessed for YEARS how many people want to train these models to create/recreate actors who cannot consent, like Dad,” she wrote.

“This isn’t theoretical, it is very very real.

“I’ve already heard AI used to get his ‘voice’ to say whatever people want and while I find it personally disturbing, the ramifications go far beyond my own feelings.

“These recreations are, at their very best, a poor facsimile of greater people.

“But at their worst, a horrendous Frankensteinian monster, cobbled together from the worst bits of everything this industry is, instead of what it should stand for.”

Robin Williams died by suicide in August 2014, aged 63.

The actor was known for his roles in Aladdin, Good Will Hunting, and Jumanji.

William’s comments come amid a growing debate over how AI can be ethically used in the media industry. 

Last week, Hollywood screenwriters in the WGA union secured a deal that meant AI-generated material couldn’t be used to undermine a writer’s credit following a 148-day strike.

The strike is set to continue to secure better rights for workers in the industry.

Protections against AI have been a key demand of the Screen Actors Guild strike.

Actors’ union SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said studios had proposed to pay background actors a day-rate in exchange for companies taking scans that can be used to create digital clones. 

The proposal had also stated that the companies “should be able to use it for the rest of eternity in any project they want with no consent and no compensation,” Crabtree-Ireland said. 

“Actors now face an existential threat to their livelihoods with the rise of generative AI technology,” he warned.

Williams has previously been critical of replacing actors with digital clones.

In 2019, Williams criticised a director’s plans to digitally recreate late actor James Dean for the film Finding Jack.

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