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Voice clone of Anthony Bourdain prompts synthetic media ethics questions

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Re: Voice clone of Anthony Bourdain prompts synthetic media ethics questions

#151
post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Out of all the celebrities, Bourdain would have viscerally despised this. I would just like to point out the irony in this comment. You're speaking on behalf of a dead person in objection to someone else speaking on behalf of that person. We can debate the ethics of this whole thing without trying to lay claim to what Bourdain would have thought.

Parent was not pretending to be said dead person, though.

I’m Anthony Bourdain’s ghost and I like your comment

Re: Voice clone of Anthony Bourdain prompts synthetic media ethics questions

#152

As a viewer of the documentary, I will love that effect instead of a bland voice-over. But a note should be added on the screen that the voice is AI-generated. Like when they say a war video is a reenactment.

Why would it have to be a bland voice-over? It's an email he sent to a friend. Have the friend read it. I imagine the friend would become emotional. That's far more riveting than a computer recreation, no?

Hmm, perhaps even the recipient of the letter involved. I think this would have been a better dramatic choice.

Re: Voice clone of Anthony Bourdain prompts synthetic media ethics questions

#153

This recently got worse, they claimed to have the OK from his widow. Turns out not so much ... https://twitter.com/OttaviaBourdain/status/14158894550057164...

They really need a way for someone to trademark their voice.

Or better yet, own copyright to your voice (and perhaps face) without having to register anywhere.

Re: Voice clone of Anthony Bourdain prompts synthetic media ethics questions

#155

Out of all the celebrities, Bourdain would have viscerally despised this. He hated fake phoney people, or food. He hated when his production crew would stovepipe his bits. He hated a scene in Greese (I believe) where crew went out and bought squid, and threw them into the water to made the shoot better. I really liked Bourdain. He was one of the few celebrities that didn't seem to change with fame, or money. I watche…

That was the Sicily episode- Bourdain wanted to show the ugly, scammy underbelly of Sicily I think. This kind of thing is there in a lot of the Mediterranean, but it unfairly makes all of Sicily look bad. I had a bad impression of the whole island until I learned more about it years later. Sicily is mostly nice with a few pockets of unsavoriness like anywhere, not a mafia island. In my opinion too many episodes are l…

Ofter you see what you want to see in the world. As much as I adore Bourdain, I have to admit he was undoubtably jaded and there were trips where that colored everything. For many, depression comes in waves and lasts for periods of time. He showed a lot of the good and bad in these places, but everywhere has a bit of both.

Re: Voice clone of Anthony Bourdain prompts synthetic media ethics questions

#156
post #94

I get why this is newsworthy, but I don't get why it's an ethical problem. How is it any different from hiring a really good Bourdain impersonator to read the email? Lots of celebrities have pitch-perfect impersonators; is this a thing we worried about when it wasn't AI doing the impersonation?

I think the concerns are 1, this is passed off without real buy in from next of kin for a person who would be against it if he were alive. And 2, I think the attention and concern is heightened because this shows it can be done at scale to anyone with ease instead of having very talented people individually read off scripts into a mic.

Consider getting a voicemail from your dead grandmother tomorrow. Public figure or not, we need to have a line somewhere where it’s no longer okay to scrape a profit from every little thing we can think of. Can we let dead guys just be dead?

Re: Voice clone of Anthony Bourdain prompts synthetic media ethics questions

#157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I understand it (I read this on Twitter so massive grain of salt etc.) the family concented to this explicitly. Would you feel better if it was a voice actor who could read Bourdain’s email in a perfect mimic? What about historical recreations, would you object to computers being involved in, say, recreating Abraham Lincoln’s voice? Does the age of the subject matter? I think the squeamishness about AI as it becom…

I don’t think my family should have the ability to make decisions regarding my likeness. My likeness is one of those things which is just totally 100% mine. I married my wife and had kids with her and would want her to have all of my money if I died but wouldn’t want her to be able to license my voice and face to promote Wheaties cereal or something. It shouldn’t be allowed unless the person explicitly grants those r…

When did you get a copyright on your likeness? Your likeness might not be unique or unique enough for others to identify a distinct you.

1,000 Elvis' likenesses disagree.

Re: Voice clone of Anthony Bourdain prompts synthetic media ethics questions

#158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

His widow did not provide consent [1]. [1] https://twitter.com/OttaviaBourdain/status/14158894550057164...

Cool, great to get that clarified but also good to see I didn’t invent the fact they claimed to have asked.

We don't know that anyone lied. The guy had two ex-wives and a girlfriend. Perhaps they didn't ask enough family members for someone's taste. But as others noted, an objection from one ex-wife doesn't really make that case very strongly.

Re: Voice clone of Anthony Bourdain prompts synthetic media ethics questions

#159

This recently got worse, they claimed to have the OK from his widow. Turns out not so much ... https://twitter.com/OttaviaBourdain/status/14158894550057164...

The marriage ended on 2016. Two years later he killed himself.

She is not his widow. She is an ex-wife.

Re: Voice clone of Anthony Bourdain prompts synthetic media ethics questions

#160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They really need a way for someone to trademark their voice.

Or better yet, own copyright to your voice (and perhaps face) without having to register anywhere.

Then your long lost twin files suit and a judge forces plastic surgery on you citing prior art.
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