Latest news with #GayannePotter
Daily Record
3 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Record
ScotRail 'fixing' AI train announcer after artist claimed it was her voice
Gayanne Potter claimed the publicly-owned rail operator based its AI announcer - known as Iona - on recordings she made in 2021. ScotRail is addressing issues with an AI train announcer following allegations it used a woman's voice without consent, the First Minister has announced. John Swinney acknowledged there had been some "controversy" surrounding the matter after Scottish voiceover artist Gayanne Potter claimed the state-owned rail service modelled its AI announcer – known as Iona – on recordings she made in 2021. The subject was brought up during First Minister's Questions at Holyrood, where Scottish Conservative MSP Dr Sandesh Gulhane questioned if this reflects the Scottish Government's support for actors since ScotRail came under public ownership in 2022. Dr Gulhane continued to press Mr Swinney on the issue after Ms Potter, in a widely circulated Facebook post, accused ScotRail of ignoring her concerns. She alleged that Iona's voice originated from voice data held by Swedish company ReadSpeaker, for whom she recorded in 2021, claiming that their use of her voice in an AI model breached the terms of her contract with them. Ms Potter expressed her "distress" upon learning that Scotland had "installed the ReadSpeaker model 'Iona' that contains my biometric voice data as their new announcer on all their trains". She emphasised: "I did not know. I was not asked. I did not consent." Mr Swinney assured that he is "sure" ScotRail will "engage constructively with all concerned".
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
OPINION - 'I'm devastated that AI stole my voice' ...Tech & Science Daily podcast
Listen here on your chosen podcast platform. Gayanne Potter told us that ScotRail are using her voice for their new AI train announcements without her permission. ScotRail unveiled their new AI announcer 'Iona' earlier this month, and Gayanne is urging them to change it. Gayanne explained that her voice was taken from a previous employer, Swedish company ReadSpeaker, and claims it was not made clear in her contract that they could use her voice again in the future. This episode includes responses from both ScotRail and ReadSpeaker. Also in this episode: -Disposable vapes are officially banned from Sunday, June 1st -New AI test could end 'postcode lottery' for 'game changer' prostate cancer drug -Drought declared in North West England -Japanese researchers say cats can indeed smell the difference between a stranger and their owner…
Scotsman
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
'I became the AI voice of Lothian Buses, but didn't know about it', says angry Scottish voiceover artist
Second woman discovers a synthetic version of her voice being used by a Scottish transport operator - in this case, Lothian Buses. Sign up for the latest news and analysis about Scottish transport Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A Glasgow voiceover artist has accused an AI company of 'stealing her vocal soul' for creating an synthetic version of her voice that has been supplied to Edinburgh bus operator Lothian for announcements. Diane Brooks told The Scotsman that other artists were likely to have been similarly treated after Midlothian-based Gayanne Potter revealed an AI version of her voice had been used by ScotRail for train announcements. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Voiceover artist Diane Brooks in her studio near Glasgow on Thursday | John Devlin/The Scotsman Ms Brooks said her voice recordings made 11 years ago for Belgian company Acapela had been used to created a synthetic voice known as 'Rhona'. She thought Rhona may also have been used by other transport operators. 'I am sorry to say and unbeknown to me, my voice is the voice on Lothian buses,' Ms Brooks said. 'I had done a text-to-speech (TTS) project in 2014 when TTS was in its infancy and had known my voice was on Acapela as Rhona, but thought it wouldn't get used as it has been. 'I have felt very strongly for a long time that I had to do something, but felt a bit alone about it all, and what chance would I have against a big corporate company?' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms Brooks said when Ms Potter revealed an AI version of her voice, known as Iona, had been used by ScotRail, 'it has given me the strength to do something about it, as it's an infringement of my rights as a voiceover artist'. ScotRail said Ms Potter's dispute was with Swedish firm ReadSpeaker, which supplied Iona. Gayanne Potter wants ScotRail to remove the 'Iona' AI version of her voice from its train announcements | Gayanne Potter Ms Brooks said: 'The worst thing is that I have no control of my own voice. I don't know where it will end up and basically, they have stolen my vocal soul. At first I was quite upset, but now I'm really angry. It's not right. 'It's a relief to know I am not the only one who is in the situation and am sure more voiceover artists will come out of the woodwork with the same issue. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We must stick together and show a united approach to it all and we can't let these big corporate companies take away our identities and our livelihoods.' Ms Brooks said she was now taking legal advice 'as I want to make sure I have all the ammo I need to take on these companies that really take advantage in the most profitable way for them'. 'I hope strength in numbers will truly resolve this issue as AI is becoming increasingly dominant in everything we do and as voiceover artists we must be better protected in our work,' she said. Ms Brooks' work has included for BBC Bitesize, TV and radio commercials, and announcements for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The artist said she had recorded phrases for her agent, Scottish Voiceovers, now part of Voquent, on behalf of Acapela, but she had not been clear what they were to be used for and did not remember signing a contract. The recordings were later used by Acapela to create Rhona. Ms Brooks said: 'You are trusting your agent to do the best for you and look at things.' Performing arts union Equity said such cases had become common, which it said infringed its members' rights. Liam Budd, its industrial official for recorded media, said: 'It is extremely exploitative for companies to use and commercialise voice recordings to create digital replicas of artists from contracts which pre-date the development of generative AI or were not drafted explicitly for this purpose. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Sadly, we have heard from numerous performers who have lost control over their voice or likeness, and had their privacy and likeness hijacked through the misuse of AI. Such misuse is an attack on our members' fundamental rights. 'The union continues to call on the [UK] government for legal certainty around the use of historic contracts for AI-purposes and greater enforcement of existing GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation] laws, which give our members much-needed protections, but are currently being ignored.' A spokesperson for Lothian, which is owned by the City Of Edinburgh Council, said: 'We have two different passenger information systems in use. One uses a recording of a commissioned voice artist for mp3 playback, and the other uses a text-to-speech engine to synthesize a voice. 'Lothian is a licensed user of the text-to-speech engine, which originates from our equipment supplier and as such we were not involved in its creation.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Lothian said the engine had been supplied by a passenger information equipment provider, which it has yet to name. It said it had 'no direct agreement or contract with Acapela'.
Leader Live
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Actress says ScotRail's new AI announcer uses her voice data without permission
The government-owned train operator recently rolled out 'Iona', an AI voice on some routes, which replaced older messages recorded by a human. But established Scottish voiceover artist and actress Gayanne Potter said Iona is based on recordings she made in 2021. Now, in a widely shared Facebook post, Ms Potter said ScotRail is dismissing her concerns, asking the company: 'Why continue to choose a dreadful AI version of me when I'm right here?' The actress said she has been in dispute with a Sweden-based company called ReadSpeaker about the use of her voice data following recordings she made for them in 2021. She alleges these recordings were made to provide text-to-speech for translation purposes, and their later use in an AI model called 'Iona' went beyond their agreement. However, ReadSpeaker says they have a contract to use her voice and their legal team has 'comprehensively' addressed her concerns. Ms Potter's post read: 'I approached the company and expressed my distress at this, as it was far removed from what I believe I signed up for. 'I requested them to cease using my data. They refused. 'Their legal team simply shut down conversations.' The voiceover artist says she received only a 'minimal' fee for the initial work, which she offered to repay to have the data deleted. Her post continues: 'So imagine my distress when I discover that ScotRail have installed the ReadSpeaker model 'Iona' that contains my biometric voice data as their new announcer on all their trains. 'I did not know. I was not asked. I did not consent.' Ms Potter said she felt 'violated', and argued: 'ScotRail should employ a real human irrespective of who it is.' Referring to a particular station to the north of Glasgow, she said: 'Why continue to choose a dreadful AI version of me when I'm right here… 'And I know how to pronounce Milngavie.' Speaking to the PA news agency on Tuesday, Ms Potter said she is seeking 'an apology from ScotRail and an acknowledgement they have made a mistake'. She said her 'stomach dropped and I felt sick' when she first saw reports of Iona being used on Scottish trains. Ms Potter has now listened to an altered version of her own voice speaking to her on trains, adding: 'I've had people say to me 10 times that this is like an episode of Black Mirror.' The actress argued that use of her voice data for an AI model was not something she could have consented to when she first made the recordings, saying: 'I fully accept that technology has moved on (from 2021) but the right thing to do is to revisit a contract.' Support for her position has been 'incredible', she said, calling for politicians to bring in legislation making it illegal to use AI to impersonate someone without their consent. A spokesman for ReadSpeaker told PA: 'ReadSpeaker is aware of Ms Potter's concerns. 'ReadSpeaker and Ms Potter have a contract regarding the use of her voice. 'ReadSpeaker has comprehensively addressed Ms Potter's concerns with her legal representative several times in the past.' Phil Campbell, ScotRail customer operations director, said: 'We are always looking at ways to improve the customer journey experience, and we know how important both on-train and at-station announcements are. 'The use of an automated voice allows us to have more control over the announcements being made, ensures consistency for customers, and gives us flexibility to make changes at short notice. 'ScotRail has always used automated announcements in relation to customer information, but it doesn't replace human interaction through either with pre-recorded audio or staff on trains – something that will continue. 'We are working closely with Network Rail and other train-operating companies to continue making improvements across Scotland's railway, and we are hopeful of further developments in the coming months.' The rail operator has told the BBC it does not intend to remove the AI voice from its trains.
The Independent
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Voiceover artist claims her voice is being used on ScotRail's AI-generated announcements without permission
A voiceover artist is claiming her voice is being used for ScotRail 's AI-generated announcements without her permission, and says she feels 'violated' by the experience. Gayanne Potter, whose voice is ITN's 'Voice of God' and the Female Station Voice for Heart Scotland, said she was unaware her voice had been made into an artificial intelligence version used on Scotland's nationalised train network. ScotRail revealed its new AI announcer, called "Iona", this month. The technology and sound has already faced criticism from voiceover artists and passengers, and ScotRail is urging customers to 'give it time'. But now, Potter says the Swedish technology firm ReadSpeaker used her voice to train their models after completing a job for them during the Covid pandemic. "I was devastated, I was furious, I feel completely violated," she told Sky News. "My voice is my job, and I should be allowed to know who I am working with and what I am working on." Potter alleges she was unaware that her contract for her work with ReadSpeaker permitted her voice to be sold to be used as AI. Speaking to Sky News, she explained: "I literally didn't know. ScotRail never approached me, ReadSpeaker never approached me. "ScotRail have said it is not a real person. It is a real person, and I am right here. "This is a real threat. I have worked really hard for the past 20 years and built trust with clients I work with. And now to have my voice in this dreadful robot is demeaning to me." "I do not consent to my voice data being used. To find out that my personal human data is being used on the trains is appalling. "I feel like my data is being burgled. I have no control over it,' she said. ReadSpeaker produces AI-powered text-to-speech voices for more than 12,000 companies but says it uses 'authorised voice recordings' for its catalog of more than 200 lifelike voices in over 50 languages. Responding to the complaints, the tech firm told Sky News: "ReadSpeaker is aware of Ms Potter's concerns, and has comprehensively addressed these with Ms Potter's legal representative several times in the past." Potter's case has been taken up by Union Equity, a performing arts and entertainment trade union. "It is extremely exploitative for companies to use and commercialise voice recordings to create digital replicas of artists from contracts which pre-date the development of generative AI or were not drafted explicitly for this purpose,' Liam Budd, industrial official for recorded media at Equity, told Sky News. ScotRail said it had "no plans" to remove its "Iona" AI announcer, according to Sky News. Phil Campbell, ScotRail customer operations director, told Sky News: "We are always looking at ways to improve the customer journey experience, and we know how important both on-train and at-station announcements are. "The use of an automated voice allows us to have more control over the announcements being made, ensures consistency for customers, and gives us flexibility to make changes at short notice."
