Japan Actors Union reveals new guidelines to combat unauthorized AI voice cloning, including strict ban on copying voices of deceased seiyuu

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• RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  According to the Japan Actors Union, the new guidelines protect the dignity, reputation and legacy of deceased actors from commercial exploitation. Therefore, companies will be banned from using deceased actors’ voices for AI, with the exception of projects that the deceased had agreed to participate in during their lifetime. Even with this exception, companies will have to obtain prior written consent from the deceased’s bereaved family members, as well as the agency or organization with which the deceased was affiliated, and pay them royalties.

  This bit is interesting to me. I was curious what they might say about AI cloning if the estate/family agree to it. It seems like that doesn’t even matter, and the only time it is allowed is if the person agreed to the specific project and for their voice to be used for AI on that project only.

  I mean, if I was a voice actor that did well enough that people wanted to use AI for my voice and I was dead, I would definitely hope my family could still get paid royalties from it. I wouldn’t care, I would be worm food after all, but if it could benefit my family there isn’t a doubt that I would agree to it if I could. But this law basically is saying nome of that matters, and its really only a clause to grandfather in specific projects only and not for any further ones, basically leaving the estate/family with zero royalties after projects end.

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  • HetareKing@piefed.social ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I think you’re looking at this too individualistically. They’re framing this guideline as being about protecting the dignity, reputation and legacy of the deceased, and I don’t think that’s a lie, but at the same time, it is an actor’s union and they’re going to care more (quite reasonably I would say) about living actors being able to make a living, than a surviving family being able to make some free money from a dead actor’s legacy. And actors having to forever compete against an ever-increasing number of ghosts of their forbearers goes counter to that.

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