AI startup Morpheme is revolutionizing voice acting with “digital twins.” Cissy Jones, a prominent voice actor, and Morpheme’s co-founder aim to transform vocal performances across media. It will attract the interests of investors but simultaneously will also spark concerns about AI’s impact on creative professions. The concerns would be more in the video game industry.
Morpheme’s AI software records audio of voice actors to create models for improving future productions including a library of exertion sounds and multilingual capabilities. Amidst a competitive AI startup market with $378.6 million in 2022 investments, its technology offers confidentiality to entertainment businesses while redefining voice-related AI applications.
The integration of AI technology in entertainment has sparked concerns and strikes among actors due to fears of unauthorized voice replication without consent or fair compensation. Cissy Jones and Morpheme support using AI carefully, thinking it can make things more creative, cost less and be faster when used right.
Morpheme, a privately funded startup actively seeking additional investors, is focused on striking a balance between voice actors, agents, entertainment companies and SAG-AFTRA. It is simultaneously emphasizing the importance of “consent, compensation and control” in AI technology. A key element of its approach is a fair pay model, allowing actors to approve AI-generated voices and receive compensation through licensing fees.
Voice actors in video games lack residual payments, but AI provides an opportunity for extra income as their “digital twins” gain popularity. Yet, unauthorized AI use is increasing, raising concerns about copyright and rights of creators with instances like Cissy Jones’ scenes being remixed without consent, highlighting the need for ethical considerations in the world of digital twins and AI-powered voice acting.
