15-02-2025
‘By humans, for humans': French dubbing industry speaks out against AI threat
France's film dubbing industry accounts for 15,000 jobs, including actors, translators, sound technicians and artistic directors. And now the sector is mobilising to ensure its voice is still heard in the face of the artificial intelligence revolution.
In a studio near Paris, in a dark room with walls covered with blue fabric, a screen shows excerpts from the Japanese animated series Dragon Ball. Standing at a microphone, actor Bruno Méyère is dubbing several characters in French.
"You can go as far as 'raw'... There, that's perfect," applauds artistic director Brigitte Lecordier, also a well-known French voiceover actor, who that day is working with her son Louis, the production director.
"I am mostly known for my cartoon voice, Oui-Oui [Noddy], and especially Dragon Ball," says Lecordier, who is the voice of young Son Goku in the long-running series.
Despite her success, the rise of artificial intelligence in the sector has her worried. "We are not against AI. It can bring things from a technical point of view and in terms of tools," she told RFI. "But we are very concerned. We want to continue creating and being artists, not be replaced by something that only creates by stealing from us. Our voices are stolen to generate AI and make us say things we did not choose to say."
The French dubbing industry was recently shocked by an excerpt from the latest Sylvester Stallone film, Armor, in which the French VoiceOver of the American actor was made using AI.
It's a scenario that has raised questions over ethics in the industry, in the face of new technology.
Read more on RFI EnglishRead also:EU chief Ursula von der Leyen unveils €200 bn boost for AI at Paris summitWhy the African continent has a role to play in developing AIFrance's Mistral AI teams up with UAE-backed developers as Le Chat app launches
