Latest news with #ElizabethPineau
Mint
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Voice actors push back as AI threatens dubbing industry
Fearing job loss, Europe's voice actors call for EU regulation Studios explore using artificial intelligence to dub, with mixed results AI firms say humans key for quality, tech brings efficiency By Elizabeth Pineau, Miranda Murray and Dawn Chmielewski PARIS/BERLIN, July 30 (Reuters) - Boris Rehlinger may not turn heads on the streets of Paris, but his voice is instantly recognisable to millions of French filmgoers. As the French voice of Ben Affleck, Joaquin Phoenix, and even Puss in Boots, Rehlinger is a star behind the scenes — and now he is fighting to keep his craft alive in the age of AI. "I feel threatened even though my voice hasn't been replaced by AI yet," the actor, who is part of a French initiative, TouchePasMaVF, to protect human-created dubbing from artificial intelligence, told Reuters. He said there was a team of professionals, including actors, translators, production directors, dialogue adapters and sound engineers, to ensure audiences barely notice that the actor on screen is speaking a different language than they hear. The rise of global streaming platforms such as Netflix , which relies heavily on dubbing to make global hits such as "Squid Game" and "Lupin", has amplified demand. Consumer research firm GWI says 43% of viewers in Germany, France, Italy and Britain prefer dubbed content over subtitles. The market is expected to grow to $4.3 billion in 2025, reaching $7.6 billion by 2033, according to Business Research Insights. That growth could also amplify demand for the so-far nascent technology-based solutions, with platforms competing for subscribers and revenue, and seeking to win over advertisers from their rivals by emphasising their increasing reach. But as AI-generated voices become more sophisticated and cost-effective, voice actor industry associations across Europe are calling on the EU to tighten regulations to protect quality, jobs and artists' back catalogues from being used to create future dubbed work. "We need legislation: Just as after the car, which replaced the horse-drawn carriage, we need a highway code," Rehlinger said. Worries over technology in the movie industry and whether it will replace the work of humans are not new. AI has been a flashpoint in Hollywood since the labour unrest of 2023, which resulted in new guidelines for the use of the technology. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said this month that the company used generative AI to produce visual effects for the first time on screen in the original series "El Eternauta (The Eternaut)". It has also tested GenAI to synchronise actors' lip movements with dubbed dialogue to improve the viewing experience, according to three sources familiar with the work. These experiments rely on local voice actors to deliver the lines, rather than use AI to synthetically translate the on-screen performer's voice into another language. Such a use of AI for dubbing is permitted under the new SAG-AFTRA actors' union contract, which covers voice-over dubbing from foreign languages into English. It also requires that the actor rendering the dubbing service be paid. Netflix declined to comment on its use of AI in dubbing when asked by Reuters. Such test-runs by an industry giant will do little to allay the fears of dubbing actors. In Germany, 12 well-known dubbing actors went viral on TikTok in March, garnering 8.7 million views, for their campaign saying "Let's protect artistic, not artificial, intelligence". A petition from the VDS voice actors' association calling on German and EU lawmakers to push AI companies to obtain explicit consent when training the technology on artists' voices and fairly compensate them, as well as transparently label AI-generated content, gained more than 75,500 signatures. When intellectual property is no longer protected, no one will produce anything anymore "because they think 'tomorrow it will be stolen from me anyway'," said Cedric Cavatore, a VDS member who has dubbed films and video games including the PlayStation game "Final Fantasy VII Remake". VDS collaborates with United Voice Artists, a global network of over 20,000 voice actors advocating for ethical AI use and fair contracts. In the United States, Hollywood video game voice and motion capture actors this month signed a new contract with video game studios focused on AI that SAG-AFTRA said represented important progress on protections against the tech. Some studios are already cautiously exploring AI. Eberhard Weckerle, managing director of the Neue Tonfilm Muenchen studio, hopes AI and human dubbing can one day coexist. "The fear is that AI will be used to make something as cheap as possible and then people will say, 'Okay, I'll accept that I'll have poorer quality'. And that would actually be the worst thing that could happen to us," said the sound engineer whose studio worked on the German version of "Conclave" and is currently dubbing Guy Ritchie's new film. Earlier this year, the German-dubbed version of streaming service Viaplay's Polish crime series "Murderesses" was removed after criticism from viewers about the monotony of its AI-generated dialogue. The streamer had decided to look into alternative dubbing options due to how prohibitively expensive going through the traditional channels can be in Germany. The hybrid dubbing, created with Israeli startup DeepDub, used a mix of human and AI voices. DeepDub did not respond to an emailed request for comment. "We'll continue offering subtitles and reserve dubbing for select content," said Vanda Rapti, the executive vice president of ViaPlay Group, ViaPlay Select & Content distribution. Despite the disquiet over that series, other potential viewers seem more sanguine. According to GWI, nearly half of viewers said their opinion would not change if they learned that the content they liked was generated by AI. Some 25% said they would like it slightly less, and only 3% said they would like it much more. 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, but not replace, voice work. Humans will always be needed for emotion, scripting, and language nuance, he said, "just not to the same extent". Audio Innovation Lab's technology alters the original actor's voice to match the target language, aiming for authenticity and efficiency. "Interest is huge," said Sporn, adding that producers, studios and advertisers all want to know how well it works. Another startup, Flawless AI, bills itself as an ethical AI company that works with local voice actors and uses its technology to match the on-screen actor's lip movements to the different languages. "When AI technologies are used in the right way, they are a silver bullet to change how we can film-make in a new way," co-CEO Scott Mann said. (Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau in Paris, Dawn Chmielewski and Rollo Ross in Los Angeles, Erol Dogrudogan, Petra Wischgoll and Stephane Nitschke in Cologne, Ayhan Uyanik and Christine Uyanik in Munich, and Miranda Murray in Berlin; Editing by Alison Williams)
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
French PM Bayrou survives latest no-confidence motion
By Elizabeth Pineau PARIS (Reuters) -French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou survived his latest no-confidence motion in parliament on Tuesday, after far-right National Rally (RN) lawmakers refrained from backing a measure brought by his opponents on the left. The measure garnered 189 votes, falling well short of the threshold needed to oust the government. Despite surviving his eighth no-confidence motion since taking office last December, Bayrou's premiership appears increasingly shaky. He now finds himself in the same position as his predecessor Michel Barnier, whose three-month stint as prime minister ended after the National Rally called time on his rule. Officials from the RN - the single largest party in the National Assembly but short of a majority - said they would not back the no-confidence motion. They prefer to refrain until later in the year, when even more complex talks over passing the 2026 budget threaten to once again topple France's government. Bayrou faces an uphill challenge to secure 40 billion euros in spending cuts for the 2026 budget. The Socialists filed the no-confidence motion after months-long talks to tweak the country's disputed pension reform ended without a deal. Bayrou convened the talks to secure the Socialists' support against an earlier no-confidence motion, but their fragile accord is now dead. RN party president Jordan Bardella, interviewed on CNews on Monday, gave no indication the RN would back the no-confidence measure. Instead, he called on French President Emmanuel Macron to dissolve parliament and call fresh legislative elections. Macron, whose second and final term as president will end in 2027, called a snap parliamentary vote last year after the RN surged in European Parliament elections. He can dissolve Parliament again from July 8. "I don't see how anything healthy can emerge between now and 2027," Bardella said.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
French lawmakers approve assisted dying bill, paving the way for approval
By Elizabeth Pineau PARIS (Reuters) -French lower house lawmakers approved a bill on Tuesday to legalise assisted dying, paving the way for France to become the latest European nation to allow terminally ill people to end their lives. The final passage of the bill remains some way off, with the text now heading to the Senate. However, the legislation is expected to pass, with polls showing more than 90% of French people in favour of laws that give people with terminal diseases or interminable suffering the right to die. French President Emmanuel Macron called the vote in the National Assembly "an important step." The bill, which was approved in parliament by 305 votes to 199, provides the right to assisted dying to any French person over the age of 18 suffering from a serious or incurable condition that is life-threatening, advanced or terminal. The person, who must freely make their decision, must also have constant physical or psychological suffering that cannot be alleviated. Lawmakers stipulated that psychological suffering alone would not be enough to end one's life. The patient can administer the lethal dose themselves or by an accredited medical professional if they are physically unable. Healthcare workers who object to doing so are free to opt out. Anyone found to have obstructed someone's right to die can face a two-year prison sentence and a 30,000 euro fine. Laws to enable assisted dying are gathering steam across Europe. In November, British lawmakers voted in favour of allowing assisted dying, paving the way for Britain to follow countries such as Australia, Canada and some U.S. states in what would be the biggest social reform in a generation. In March, the Isle of Man, a self-governing British Crown Dependency off northwest England, approved an assisted dying bill, potentially making the island the first place in the British Isles where terminally ill people could end their lives. "France is one of the last countries in Western Europe to legislate on this issue," leftist lawmaker Olivier Falorni told Reuters. "We are in a global process ... France is behind, and I hope we will do it with our own model."
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
EU's Von der Leyen announces 500 million euro package to lure top researchers to Europe
By Elizabeth Pineau PARIS (Reuters) - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Monday a 500 million euros ($566.6 million) incentive package to boost European science research, as Europe hopes to lure top U.S. scientists disgruntled with President Donald Trump. "Science is an investment – and we need to offer the right incentives. This is why I can announce that we will put forward a new 500 million euros package for 2025-2027 to make Europe a magnet for researchers," she said at a speech in Paris alongside French President Emmanuel Macron. "We are choosing to put research and innovation, science and technology, at the heart of our economy. We are choosing to be the continent where universities are pillars of our societies and our way of life," she added. She also said she wanted EU-member states to invest 3% of gross domestic product in research and development by 2030. Last month, Macron and Von der Leyen said they would be looking to invite scientists and researchers from the world over to Europe, at a time when Trump's administration is threatening to cut federal funding for Harvard and other U.S. universities. In April, France also launched the "Choose France for Science" platform, operated by the French National Research Agency (ANR), which enables universities, schools, and research organisations to apply for co-funding from the government to host researchers. ($1 = 0.8825 euros)
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
France passes sweeping new drug law as cocaine surge drives crime wave
By Elizabeth Pineau and Gabriel Stargardter PARIS (Reuters) - French lawmakers on Tuesday approved a sweeping counter-narcotics law to equip the state with tougher tools to fight a sharp rise in drug crime following a record-breaking surge of South American cocaine into Europe. The new law will create a national prosecutor's office for organised crime, isolate dangerous kingpins in prisons to prevent them from running their empires from behind bars, and allow for the shutdown of businesses that launder drug money. The use of cooperating witnesses - criminals offering information on their network in return for lighter sentences or other benefits - will be expanded, while assets will be confiscated unless their owners can attest to their provenance. The bill, which was born out of a 2024 Senate report that warned France faced a "tipping point" from rising drug violence, was not without controversy. A measure to provide police with an automatic backdoor into encrypted messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal was removed by lawmakers during debate. Centrist lawmaker Sylvain Maillard told Reuters tougher laws were needed to tackle a problem that is affecting nations across the continent. "Countries in Europe, like Holland and Belgium, are under attack," Maillard said. "All countries with major ports are particularly affected, and this is the case in France. We must combat this scourge, which has grown enormously in recent years, by updating the legislation." The new law comes amid growing awareness of France's struggle with organised crime. A spate of attacks on prisons across France, which the government says are in response to its push to make jails less hospitable to drug barons, has underlined the threat to the state posed by the narcotics trade. At least 25 people suspected of involvement in the prison attacks were arrested on Monday on terrorism charges. Years of record cocaine imports to Europe have transformed local drug markets, generating a wave of violence. Despite historic cocaine seizures in France, gangs are reaping windfalls as they expand from traditional power bases in cities such as Marseille into smaller towns unused to drug violence. The rise in gang crime has also increased support for the far-right National Rally party and helped drag French politics further to the right.
