In the most recent edition of the variety show “Close-up Gendai (クローズアップ現代)“, broadcast on December 12 on NHK in Japan, the prominent voice actor Yuki Kaji addressed the hot topic of the proliferation of content generated by artificial intelligence (AI). The discussion focused on how films, videos and audio content are increasingly being produced through AIs, dispensing with the participation of human interpreters and raising their quality significantly.
The program highlighted the incursion of AI even in television commercials, drawing immediate criticism. However, it was noted that this trend has also created additional problems. Social networks are flooded with AI-generated videos that imitate the voices of voice actors and actressesperforming popular songs of the time. The lack of clear “copyright protection” for voices has led to seiyuu facing difficulties in enforcing their rights.
During the discussion, Yuki Kaji shared his thoughts, attracting attention on social media. “Voice actors are not only responsible for their voices, but they also have the responsibility and determination to breathe life and soul into their work.“, he expressed. “As an actor, it’s frustrating to see seiyuu work morph into something different that simply scratches the surface of talent. The efforts of everyone involved in the project have been overlooked to some extent. If you turn that into a toy, we risk destroying the pride of those people and what we have all created together“Kaji warned.
Kaji’s statement highlights the concern of dubbing industry professionals over the growing influence of AI in content production. His comment suggests that the industry could face an imminent crisis if the challenges associated with the proliferation of these technologies are not adequately addressed.just as has happened with the illustrators market.
And of course, his statement was not without comments:
- «I don’t see the problem».
- «There are people who use programs to change characters’ voices without permission».
- «I don’t expect intelligence from the bastard who stole Ayana Taketatsu from us.».
- «Companies only care about these things when they start losing money, so I guess someone was making money off of Yuki Kaji’s voice and that’s why they got upset.».
- «The AI will take care of the rest, the only seiyuus that will be hired in the future will be to continue existing works or to have their voice model generated for use by an AI».
- «There are many people with similar tones of voice, the voice is not something that is considered “original”».
- «Many artisans have lost their jobs thanks to the emergence of machines and automation, did anyone care about them?».
- «One of the many jobs that will eventually be replaced by AIs, this is how the world works».
- «I’m sure this guy is rotten in money, stop crying».
- «It’s the same as with the illustrations, but, for some reason, taking work away from the seiyuus doesn’t seem bad to me. Illustrators struggle trying to get ahead, have you ever seen a seiyuu go through financial problems?».
Fountain: Fukushima Minposha
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