Ethical and Legal Challenges of Voice Cloning
With AI evolving the music industry has a new problem, the use of softwares that are capable of learn using the voices of singers and clone it in a way that, most of the times, are almost perfect. Recently a big debate was set when a user uploaded a song made by AI that cloned the voices of Drake and The Weekend reaching 10 million views on TikTok, with the repercussion, Universal Music tried to legally delete the song in all platforms but there’s no legislation on that topic yet, making a big ethical and legal dilemma.
Ethically, the use of AI to clone a musician voice steals his own right to express himself musically and use his way of making art as purely a product, something that could in no way express what the singer itself would write or sing. Going even deeper, what if the artist isn’t even alive? It’s been all over social media songs using the voices of Renato Russo, Frank Sinatra, Juice WRLD and many others that already passed away! It’s morally correct to clone their voices?
Many producers and artists don’t see it as a threat and are trying to use it as a way of profit, like the artist Grimes, who developed a platform that allows people to create songs with her voice, giving her 50% of the earnings, if the music gain any. On the other side, big music companies like Universal Music Group have actively going against the use of AI in the industry and even called it “a fraud”, sending letters to Spotify and Apple Music asking for those streaming services to block AI companies in the platform not allowing the use of its music to “train” their technology.
AI and voice cloning pose significant ethical and legal dilemmas for the music industry. On one hand, some artists and fans may see it as a creative and innovative way of making music, while others may feel that it violates the rights and identity of the original singers. On the other hand, the current legislation does not adequately address the issue of voice cloning, leaving room for disputes and conflicts between AI companies and music labels. Therefore, it is important to have a clear and fair framework that regulates the use of AI and voice cloning in the music industry, balancing the interests of all parties involved and respecting the artistic integrity of the singers.