Latest news with #ReadSpeaker
Yahoo
3 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…
The National
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
ScotRail and Lothian Buses slammed for using AI for voiceovers
Julie Coombe, actress and chair of Cairn — a not-for-profit union of professionals working in the performing arts in Scotland — has called on MSPs to "ask questions of Scotrail" and others after the government-owned train operator recently rolled out AI voice 'Iona' on some routes and replaced older messages recorded one of their members, Fletcher Mathers. Mathers, who has been the voice of ScotRail trains for 20 years, told The National of how she was not informed of the switch to AI and only learned she was being replaced after a friend heard the new synthetic voice onboard. Scottish voiceover artist and actress Gayanne Potter has also said made headlines after she revealed "Iona" is based on recordings she made in 2021. READ MORE: I've voiced ScotRail trains for 20 years and was replaced with AI without being told Now, in a widely shared Facebook post, 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?' Coombe said: "Legally, they haven't done anything wrong, but Gaynor did not consent to the use of her voice by the Swedish company for this, and again, Fletcher only found out because somebody informed her — she wasn't told by ScotRail. "There's an awful lot of lack of consent and lack of consideration going on here with this issue. We know AI is part of the landscape as creatives, but what we as an organisation feel there is a need to be new legislative protections put in place for people, and to protect artists' rights." She added: "Acting is a profession not a hobby. Jobbing actors still exist and we are professionals. Most jobbing actors are low earners who rely on side hustles to survive so anything like the work for free for a laugh or cheap AI replacements is a much bigger threat than it might seem. READ MORE: Second legal action launched against equalities watchdog over trans guidance "After what the world went through in 2020 I thought we'd learned the value of people. I know I'd rather hear a human voice on my train. I think most people would." One of Cairn's members wrote to their local MSP requesting action on the issue, and now the union is sharing a template to members to encourage them to also raise concerns with their representatives. Coombe also highlighted a second woman who has accused an AI company of 'stealing her vocal soul," this time for Edinburgh bus operator Lothian announcements. Diane Brooks has said her voice recordings made 11 years ago for Acapela, a Belgian company, had been used to created a synthetic voice known as 'Rhona'. Coombe said: "We really feel we're at a point in our industry where you're up against new hurdles almost daily. "And now none of the companies are actually sticking their head above the parapet and saying, 'oh, by the way, you're actually being used there'." A spokesman for ReadSpeaker previously said: '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, also addressed the concerns, adding: '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. 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.
Evening Standard
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Evening Standard
'I'm devastated that AI stole my voice' ...Tech & Science Daily podcast
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.
Scotsman
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
'Violated': Voiceover artist demands ScotRail removes her voice from new AI announcements
The voice, dubbed Iona, is being used for announcements on ScotRail services across the country. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, 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 Scottish voiceover artist has called for ScotRail to remove her voice from its new AI train announcements system because she never agreed to its use. Gayanne Potter, whose work also includes the 'Voice of God' introductions to ITV News, said she felt 'violated' because her voice had been used for a different purpose to what she had agreed with the Swedish company that provided the system. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Councillors will discuss ScotRail's plans to reduce opening hours of ticket offices including four in Fife. (Pic: John Devlin) | John Devlin/The Scotsman A synthetic version of Ms Potter's voice, known as Iona, has been used on some ScotRail trains since July last year, replacing its pre-recorded human voice announcements. The Scottish Government-owned operator said the move was to 'make announcements more modern and reflective of the routes the train serves'. 'Nobody told me' Edinburgh-born Ms Potter, who is based in Midlothian, said she was in dispute with ReadSpeaker, which had supplied Iona, and called for ScotRail to revert to a human voice. ScotRail said the dispute was between her and ReadSpeaker and it had 'no plans' to remove the voice. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Writing on her Facebook page, Ms Potter said: 'I discovered last week that ScotRail's new horrible AI train announcer Iona is in fact using my voice data - and nobody told me. 'I have been in dispute with a company in Sweden, ReadSpeaker, for over two years to get my voice data removed from their website.' Ms Potter said in 2021 she had understood that her voice would be used by the firm 'to provide text to speech recordings to be used for translation purposes from foreign language copy pasted into their site, and as an accessibility tool for people with visual impairment'. Two years later, she discovered it was also being used for Iona, along with an AI-generated image of a red-haired woman, which was marketed by ReadSpeaker 'for much wider purposes'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Gayanne Potter called for ScotRail to use a human voice instead of AI | Gayanne Potter Ms Potter said the company refused to stop using her voice, despite offering to repay her fee, and she was now pursuing the case through lawyers. She said: 'I will not let this rest. 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 their trains. 'I did not know. I was not asked. I did not consent. I was not given a choice. 'Four years ago, we didn't have the AI we use now. You cannot consent to something that doesn't exist. You should be able to withdraw your consent at any point. Readspeaker won't let me. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Why choose a dreadful AI version of me' 'It's not about money. It's about my identity. I feel violated. 'ScotRail should employ a real human irrespective of who it is. Why continue to choose a dreadful AI version of me when I'm right here - and I know how to pronounce Milngavie?' ScotRail said Iona had been used for supplementary announcements on its Class 156 diesel trains, which operate on routes including north of Inverness, and High Speed Trains - inter-city services - over the past ten months. The system has also been used on its class 380 trains, whose routes include in Ayrshire and Inverclyde, for the last two weeks. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Its spokesperson said: 'It would be a matter for Ms Potter to take up with ReadSpeaker, who her contract is with. We have no plans to remove the voice from our trains.' ReadSpeaker chief marketing officer Roy Lindemann said: "We are 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."
Leader Live
5 days ago
- 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.
