The Backlash Behind The Decision To Use AI For Darth Vader's Voice
Image Source: Vanity Fair
On September 23rd, it was revealed that James Earl Jones will be stepping down from his role as Darth Vader and that he had authorized his voice to be recreated by artificial intelligence. This was first employed in Obi-Wan Kenobi using the Respeecher technology. Though this offers fans an opportunity to recreate the characters accurately, the use of artificial intelligence has been very controversial in the voice-acting community. The decision to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology rather than hire another actor has resulted in a rather heated discussion, particularly in light of a Tweet posted by voice actor Evan Michael Lee.
Lee’s performance was rather well received by fans and other voice actors. Lee was able to replicate Jones’ voice pretty well, and even got a stamp of approval from Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill.
AI voices have been getting more and more convincing. In some ways, this is a good thing, but for many voice actors, this is troubling. There is a fear that studios may opt to use this technology rather than hire voice-over talent. Voice actor Zack Sulfur discussed this in a Twitter thread.
Respeecher is not a text-to-speech program. It requires someone to record the line first before the program transforms it into the voice of someone else. Sulfur went into the ethics of “voice cloning,” stating that not only could it put voice actors out of work. Jones’ willingness to let his voice be cloned could potentially lead to studios tricking voice-over artists into signing away the “rights” to their voices.
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It would not be unheard of for Darth Vader to be voiced by someone other than Jones. Behind the Voice Actors lists 44 total actors who have performed the role. These actors include Scott Lawrence, Matt Sloan, Fred Tatasciore, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Phil LaMar. There are several voice actors who can match Jones’ performance nearly identically, so it can be argued that an AI voice is not necessary, and it removes the human connection between the performer and the audience. Furthermore, this takes away the chance for the role to be passed down to another actor, as pointed out by Yong Yea, the voice of Enrico Pucci in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean:
This is a similar situation to what is happening in that world with AI art generators such as dall.e and Midjourney. In the same way that AI voice modeling may end up being used to replace human voice actors, there is fear that AI art programs can be used in place of an actual artist. Both technologies often copy another person's work, and the ethics behind them are dubious. A recent controversy has popped up regarding an AI that has been modeled to recreate the style of late illustrator Kim Jung Ji, for example:
Though AI is an interesting tool, its usage in the arts can be seen as a threat to artists. It also removes the soul and integrity from the art it produces. In the same way, AI in a voice-over has the potential to remove the soul from the performance.
Technologies like Respeecher can be valuable assets, but they can also potentially put working actors out of work. The fact that Disney has opted to use AI technology rather than the voice matches for Vader they have used in the past is confusing and may set a dangerous precedent. Sure, the argument can be made that it ensures consistency between Darth Vader's previous incarnations in the films. However, if Respeecher needs a human voice to interpret anyway, then why not just hire a voice actor? James Earl Jones will always be the iconic voice of the cyborg Dark Lord of the Sith, but just how far do we want to take our attachment to his work? If we can accept a new person behind the voice of other legacy characters such as Micky Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Donald Duck, and even video game characters such as Sonic and Mario, why can't we do the same for Darth Vader? AI can be a useful tool, but perhaps we should not use it in place of talented, hard-working individuals in the arts.
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