Voice actors and studios in Germany's dubbing industry are urging regulatory measures to address challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI), as concerns over quality and job security grow.

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The release of Open AI's ChatGPT has accelerated the development of artificial intelligence and warnings about its impact on society.

Rise of AI

Voice actors in Germany are urging the European Union to implement stricter regulations on artificial intelligence as its use in dubbing grows. Industry professionals warn that AI-generated voices lack the emotional nuance of human actors and could threaten both job security and production standards. Dubbing remains culturally important in countries like Germany, Italy, and France, where voice actors often have dedicated fan bases. While the global dubbing market is expected to nearly double in value by 2033, concerns persist about the use of artists' previous work in AI systems and the potential misuse of copyrighted material. Some industry leaders acknowledge that AI will likely reshape, but not fully replace, traditional voice work, with humans still needed for emotional delivery and script support.

Voice actors push back as AI threatens dubbing industry

Ich bin Spongebob. Voice actors in Germany are pushing back against artificial intelligence, demanding tighter EU regulation as concerns over job security and quality grow. Eberhard Werkel is the managing director of a dubbing studio near Munich. His studio has worked on the German version of Conclave and is currently dubbing Guy Ritchie's new film, among other big hits. The voices sound relatively real, let's put it that way. What doesn't work is the emotion that the voices convey, the nuances that are simply there in a human voice. I can say the same sentence in a completely different way, I communicate exactly the same content, but I can easily evoke completely different emotions with nuances, with emphasis, with variations in volume, and sound is something that works on an absolutely emotional level. That's why I really don't think AI is suitable for this at the moment. But he's also apprehensive about AI being leveraged to cut costs and potentially compromise production standards. Dubbing remains culturally significant in markets such as Germany, Italy and France, where experts say viewers equally prefer dubbing to subtitles. Voice actors in these regions often garner dedicated fan followings, participating in panels and promotional events. Researchers say the global dubbing market will almost double to be worth $7.6 billion by 2033. But as the market grows, Soda calls on the EU to protect quality, jobs and artists' back catalogues from being used to create future dubbed work. Here's Cedric Capitore, who has narrated more than 100 documentaries, dubbed films and video games. We have some kind of wild west mentality. The big tech companies are claiming and just going wild with copyrighted material. They suck dry media libraries and homepages. Just because something is available on the internet doesn't mean that it is for free use. There are actual rights on it. Copyright. Ancillary copyright. Personal rights. But Stefan Sporn, CEO of Audio Innovation Lab, which used AI to dub the Cannes film festival entry Black Dog, from Chinese to German, believes AI will reshape, not replace, voice work. He acknowledges concerns and believes that, for now, humans will still be needed to help provide emotion and support with scripts, just perhaps not to the same extent as traditional production.

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Voice actors push back as AI threatens dubbing industry

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Rise of AI