Voice actor Allegra Clark came across a TikTok video featuring her character Beidou from the video game Genshin Impact. However, the video showcased a sexually suggestive scene and had lines of dialogue that Clark had never recorded. The video's creator had used a generative AI tool called ElevenLabs to clone Clark's voice and manipulate it to say whatever they wanted. Concerned about potential violation of her contract, Clark reached out to ElevenLabs to have the audio clip taken down and to prevent further cloning of her voice. However, ElevenLabs claimed they couldn't verify if their technology was used and only committed to removing content if it was hate speech or defamatory.

As voice actors have no personal ownership of their voices, incidents like these highlight the lack of legal protection. Employers in the industry are increasingly experimenting with text-to-speech tools, leading to concerns about job security and fair compensation for voice actors. The National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA) and SAG-AFTRA are working to add protections to contracts and establish rights for voice actors. The issue extends beyond unauthorized use for explicit or questionable content, with AI-generated voices also becoming a medium for harassment and scams. While voice generation companies are implementing measures to prevent misuse, questions around consent and the future of voice actors remain.