Broadcaster sues Google over AI voice clone

Action from NPR's David Greene could set important precedent for intellectual property rights

Life

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David Greene, former host of the NPR programme Morning Edition, is taking Google to court. He claims that the tech giant illegally cloned his voice for the AI tool NotebookLM. The lawsuit argues that the male voice used by the Audio Overview feature of NotebookLM, which converts text into conversational audio, bears a striking resemblance to Greene’s distinctive presenting style.

The case is likely to set an important precedent in the field of AI and intellectual property rights. The fundamental question of who owns a voice that is used as training material for imitative AI models will be extensively examined. Greene alleges that Google trained its AI on publicly available audio, potentially including his extensive NPR archive, to create the synthetic voice without asking his permission or offering compensation.

NotebookLM has become popular as an AI tool that can turn complex documents into accessible audio summaries. Greene’s legal action could, however, force Google to redesign the feature or introduce compensation mechanisms for voice rights. The outcome of the case is expected to have far-reaching implications for the entire tech industry and affect companies such as Meta and Amazon, which are developing their own AI voice products.

The lawsuit comes at a time when synthetic speech technology is evolving rapidly, prompting ethical and legal debates about the use of real voices in AI applications. Last year, OpenAI faced similar criticism when actress Scarlett Johansson voiced concern about a voice in ChatGPT that sounded strikingly similar to her own. Although no lawsuit was filed, the incident highlights the growing unease among performers about the unauthorised use of their likeness for commercial purposes.

This lawsuit is not just about a single broadcaster protecting his voice, but reflects a broader issue concerning control and ownership of personal attributes in the age of artificial intelligence. If Greene wins the case, tech companies will have to change their approach to AI voices. They would then have to pay licensing fees to voice talent or use only voices that are indistinguishable from those of real people.

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