I’ve seen this tweet doing the rounds but it seems strange. The way the text in the email is presented is odd. Why is there a cursor midway through a sentence. Why is it forwarded text? Why is there no sender information? Why is the subject line the voice actor’s name?
It looks to me like an agent has forwarded something from a third party production company working for the BBC.
There are at least five different possibilities here:
1. The production company is working on spec or to develop a proof of concept piece of content that is not going to be broadcast so they are using AI voice to flesh out that proof of concept.
2. A production assistant sending this weirdly formatted email has got the wrong end of the stick and sent an email referencing AI voice having misunderstood something.
3. The BBC is actually using AI voice. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it is for broadcast or public facing use.
4. The BBC is using AI voice for broadcast/public facing use and Equity (the performers’ union) will call out its members to strike.
5. The email is fake.
With no further context it’s impossible to say which of these is most likely. But in the absence of any further detail - particularly context from the author of the tweet or sender info - even partially obfuscated - there’s enough doubt to need that further context before people start screaming and wailing about AI destroying jobs.
If this isn’t happening now, it will happen in six months. And if it doesn’t happen in six months it will happen at some point in the near future.
Voice actors, session musicians, anyone providing a “commodity performance” need to prepare themselves for a world where the majority of work evaporates or changes and only remarkable performances stand out and have value beyond what can be delivered by AI.
Comments
I’ve seen this tweet doing the rounds but it seems strange. The way the text in the email is presented is odd. Why is there a cursor midway through a sentence. Why is it forwarded text? Why is there no sender information? Why is the subject line the voice actor’s name?
It looks to me like an agent has forwarded something from a third party production company working for the BBC.
There are at least five different possibilities here:
1. The production company is working on spec or to develop a proof of concept piece of content that is not going to be broadcast so they are using AI voice to flesh out that proof of concept.
2. A production assistant sending this weirdly formatted email has got the wrong end of the stick and sent an email referencing AI voice having misunderstood something.
3. The BBC is actually using AI voice. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it is for broadcast or public facing use.
4. The BBC is using AI voice for broadcast/public facing use and Equity (the performers’ union) will call out its members to strike.
5. The email is fake.
With no further context it’s impossible to say which of these is most likely. But in the absence of any further detail - particularly context from the author of the tweet or sender info - even partially obfuscated - there’s enough doubt to need that further context before people start screaming and wailing about AI destroying jobs.
If this isn’t happening now, it will happen in six months. And if it doesn’t happen in six months it will happen at some point in the near future.
Voice actors, session musicians, anyone providing a “commodity performance” need to prepare themselves for a world where the majority of work evaporates or changes and only remarkable performances stand out and have value beyond what can be delivered by AI.