Voice actors call out AI as imitations spread in erotic Skyrim mods: "I do not give consent"

gamesradar.com:

More and more Skyrim mods, including more than a few on the M-rated side, are using AI-generated voices based on real voice actors. Some of those actors have now publicly decried the practice of scraping and cloning performances without permission, especially for pornographic purposes. 

AI voice work is not a new controversy, but it's become significantly more prevalent in the Skyrim modding scene in recent months on the back of the AI tool ElevenLabs, which got off the ground in 2022 and slowly gathered momentum among Skyrim modders. The official stance of Nexus Mods, which in April 2023 ruled that "AI-generated mod content is not against our rules," also added fuel to the fire. 

AI has fairly recently been used to give voices to the Dragonborn, some Skyrim NPC companions, and plenty of other characters. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before the technology reached explicit mods, which have been a step too far for some. 

With the rise of AI voice cloning, voice actors are being abused by the modding communities. As a member of the Skyrim modding scene, I am deeply concerned at the practice of using AI voice cloning to create and distribute non-consensual deepfake pornographic content. pic.twitter.com/ySUFqrtjH0July 1, 2023

A lengthy new post from Twitter user Robbie92 argues "voice actors are being abused by the modding communities" which are using "AI voice cloning to create and distribute non-consensual deepfake pornographic content." 

The post includes a list of voice actors whose performances have allegedly been used in Skyrim porn mods. While I've been unable to verify all the affected actors for myself by ear alone – there is an ocean of Skyrim porn mods, people, and AI mods tend not to credit the voices