Stephen Fry raises alarm over AI identity theft using Harry Potter at CogX

In the heart of London, at the CogX Festival, renowned British actor and author Stephen Fry took to the stage to address an audience, sharing a deeply unsettling experience involving AI and the world of entertainment. Fry, a prominent member of the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), spoke about how AI has emerged as a contentious and pivotal issue in the ongoing labour disputes within Hollywood.

SAG-AFTRA, boasting a substantial membership of around 160,000 actors, recently embarked on a strike that has reverberated throughout the industry. The strike, initiated last month, primarily revolves around concerns related to pay, working conditions, and the growing use of AI in the film industry. The Writers Guild of America, representing thousands of Hollywood writers, simultaneously initiated a strike earlier in the year, marking one of the most extensive industry shutdowns in over six decades.

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At the heart of the actors’ strike lies a critical issue: the potential exploitation of their identity through AI. Studios, with the advent of advanced AI technology, can now digitally replicate an actor’s image without fairly compensating them for the use of their likeness. During a press conference announcing the strike, Fran Drescher, the union’s president, emphasised that AI “poses an existential threat” to creative industries and called for actors to be protected from having their “identity and talent exploited without consent and pay.”

Stephen Fry’s voice stolen and replicated by AI

However, it was the personal account of AI identity theft by Stephen Fry that truly underscored the urgency of the matter. During his speech at the CogX Festival, Fry astounded the audience by playing a clip in which an AI system mimicked his voice to narrate a historical documentary. He reiterated, “I said not one word of that—it was a machine. Yes, it shocked me.” The AI had utilised his readings of the seven volumes of the Harry Potter books to create a lifelike replication of his voice for the narration.

Fry, celebrated for his role as the narrator of the British Harry Potter audiobooks, revealed the depth of the issue. He explained, “What you heard was not the result of a mashup. This is from a flexible artificial voice, where the words are modulated to fit the meaning of each sentence.” In essence, this AI system could potentially have him narrate anything, from a call to storm Parliament to explicit content, all without his knowledge or permission.

He expressed his shock at discovering that his voice was being used in projects without his consent, and he firmly believed that this was just the tip of the iceberg—a precursor to an emerging threat to creative talent. He warned his agents, “You ain’t seen nothing yet,” predicting that full deepfake videos would soon be just as convincing as these audio impersonations.

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As AI technology continues to advance, the creation of doctored footage featuring celebrities and world leaders, known as deepfakes, has become increasingly common. Fry’s warnings highlighted that these technologies are evolving rapidly and have untapped potential.

“We have to think about [AI] like the first automobile: impressive but not the finished article,” Fry remarked, comparing the current state of AI to the early days of the automobile. He stressed the dynamism of technology, stating, “Tech is not a noun; it is a verb, it is always moving.” His message resonated with the audience, underscoring the need for vigilance and proactive measures in the face of AI’s inexorable evolution.

Actors unite in their concerns about AI’s impact on entertainment

Fry’s concerns are not unique among Hollywood actors. During a UK rally supporting the SAG-AFTRA strike, Emmy-winning actor Brian Cox shared an anecdote about a friend who had been told that a studio could freely use his image—a position deemed wholly unacceptable. Similarly, Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey voiced concerns about AI’s rise in Hollywood, cautioning against the creation of a digital deity.

Actor Simon Pegg, known for his roles in “Star Trek” and “Mission Impossible,” also echoed these sentiments, expressing worries about the future of actors in an AI-dominated industry.

Hence in the ever-evolving landscape of entertainment and technology, Fry’s warning serves as a stark reminder that AI’s power must be harnessed responsibly and ethically. The concerns raised by Hollywood’s elite underscore the need for a nuanced conversation about AI’s role in the creative industry and the protection of artists’ identities in the digital age. As the entertainment world grapples with these challenges, one thing is certain: it is a “f***ing weird time to be alive.”