Baldur’s Gate 3 struck gold at last night’s BAFTAs, but not everything is perfect in paradise. In a new interview with Eurogamer, Amelia Tyler, the game’s iconic narrator, gave some thoughts about the rise of AI and the negative impact it’s been having on the team.
“People have been recreating my voice off the back of this game in AI without my permission, and several other actors from the game. Just so everyone is aware, none of us have given permission for that to ever happen. Unless I have signed something saying you’re allowed to do that, that is stealing not just my job but my identity,” Tyler said.
She went on to explain that in the past, streamers have given their chats text-to-speech control using the cast’s voice. Unsurprisingly, Tyler heard her own voice reading particularly disturbing content.
Other members of the Baldur’s Gate 3 cast were more forgiving of AI, with major limitations. Andrew Wincott, who took home the award for Best Supporting Performance, gave a warning to those in the business.
“If you’re going to sign something that means you’re signing away the rights to your voice, be very careful and make sure the remuneration is going to be significant because that’s your career gone,” he warned.
Neil Newbon, the voice behind everyone’s favorite sassy vampire Asterion, spoke openly about the creativity behind voice acting, holding the position that AI will never be able to replicate what actors bring to the table.
“I don’t think you can program craft,” he said. “It’s something beyond zeros and ones, beyond the formula. It’s quite magical.”
