Robin Williams’ daughter Zelda says AI recreations of her dad’s voice are disturbing

Robin Williams’ daughter Zelda says AI recreations of her dad’s voice are disturbing. 

“[it’s] the worst bits of everything this industry is”.

As reported by Deadline, Zelda recently took to Instagram Stories to add her voice to the Screen Actors Guild’s (SAG) fight against AI. In particular, she condemned the practice of AI recreations and dubbed the use of the technology to recreate her dad Robin Williams’ voice “for years” a “horrendous Frankensteinian monster”.

“I am not an impartial voice in SAG’s fight against AI,” Zelda wrote in a lengthy statement shared on Instagram over the weekend. “I’ve witnessed for YEARS how many people want to train these models to create/recreate actors who cannot consent, like Dad. This isn’t theoretical, it is very very real.”

Zelda’s father died in 2014 at the age of 63.

“I’ve already heard AI used to get his ‘voice’ to say whatever people want and while I find it personally disturbing, the ramifications go far beyond my own feelings,” she said.

She added: “Living actors deserve a chance to create characters with their choices, to voice cartoons, to put their HUMAN effort and time into the pursuit of performance.” Robin Williams died by suicide in 2014 aged 63 after battling anxiety, depression, and Parkinson’s disease. An autopsy revealed he also had Lewy Body Dementia.

Zelda added: “I’ve already heard AI used to get his ‘voice’ to say whatever people want and while I find it personally disturbing, the ramifications go far beyond my own feelings. Living actors deserve a chance to create characters with their choices, to voice cartoons, to put their HUMAN effort and time into the pursuit of performance.

Other actors, including Tom Hanks, have also spoken up about the dangerous ramifications of AI. 

The two-time Oscar winner shared a “BEWARE!!” message with his Instagram followers over the weekend, warning them: “There’s a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me.” 

“I have nothing to do with it,” he added.