AI seems to be a hot topic at the moment. Advances in computing have allowed people to create legally dubious works of art using nothing but text prompts, while translators are leveraging the power of tools like ChatGPT and Deepl to produce English language patches for Japan-only games.
AI can also replicate someone's voice, and this has led to a number of prominent voice actors publically raising concerns that this could be abused.
Speaking to our friends at Eurogamer recently, Metal Gear actor David Hayter – who played Snake in several mainline instalments – was very vocal about his dislike for AI voice acting.
"Anybody who steals your voice should be locked up for forever," he said. "If you think you're going to get the thousands of subtle, emotional adjustments that [fellow voice actor] Jennifer Hale is going to give you word for word, you're fooling yourself. Yes, legally, we should all be protected against these idiots trying to repurpose our voices for free, or our voices or images or writing, what have you. But technologically, I'm not terribly concerned, I think it'll always be soulless."
Hayter has been joined by fellow Metal Gear star Paul Eiding (thanks, Eurogamer), who is the voice of Colonel Roy Campbell, a key character in the series. "If you do not have written permission to use my voice, you DO NOT HAVE PERMISSION to use my voice, including AI use," he said on Twitter. "Doing so is a violation of my legal rights and a real slap in the face. Thanks in advance, for not doing this."
Konami is in the process of remaking Metal Gear Solid 3, a game in which Hayter stars and it has already confirmed that the originally recorded dialogue will be used. Hayter was famously replaced as Snake in Metal Gear Solid V – not by AI, but by Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland.