Morgan Freeman has once again expressed his grave concerns about artificial intelligence.
The actor speaks out against trying to replicate his distinctive voice without his consent. In a recent conversation with The Guardian, the actor expressed his frustration about imitating AI, saying: “I’m a bit executive, you know. I’m like any other actor: Don’t lie to me. I don’t appreciate it and I get paid to do stuff like this, so if you’re going to do it without me, you’re ripping me off.”
He explained that his legal team was closely monitoring unauthorized uses of his voice, adding: “My lawyers have been very busy,” noting that “a fair number” of incidents had been discovered without his knowledge.
Freeman has always been outspoken on the issue. Back in June 2024, he took to X to thank fans for noticing AI-generated versions of his voice online.
“Thank you to my amazing fans for their vigilance and support in exposing the unauthorized use of my AI voice imitation,” he wrote. “Your dedication helps keep authenticity and integrity first and foremost. Grateful.”
He stressed the seriousness of the issue by using the hashtags “fraud” and “identity protection.”
The debate over artificial intelligence has intensified in Hollywood, especially after the emergence of computer-generated actress Tilly Norwood.
In September, SAG-AFTRA directly addressed concerns about the digital character, explaining: “To be clear, Tilly Norwood is not an actor, he is a character created by a computer program trained on the work of countless professional artists — without permission or compensation.”
The union stressed the lack of emotional depth and human experience behind such creations, saying: “They have no life experience to draw from, no emotion, and from what we’ve seen, audiences are not interested in watching computer-generated content divorced from human experience. It doesn’t solve any ‘problem’ – it creates the problem of stolen performances being used to put actors out of work, endangering performers’ livelihoods and devaluing human art.”