Voice Acting, Text to Speech, and AI

[LargoKitt]

Technology "stealing" from others, as you refer to it is as old as recorded history. I don't advocate impersonating a real person, famous or not. But creating an AI generated voice that is generic and using it instead of a live voice actor isn't the same thing. The blacksmith is being replaced by the automobile.

The blacksmith being replace by the auto mechanic (or sidelined into a rarer job category) is social evolution. And the automotive industry has created a lot of jobs. OTOH, eplacing people with 'robots' in an industry creates a very (un)real picture worth thinking about. Logically, it is possible to project a near future for 'Hollywood' in which every movie, series, commercial, podcast, or concert is enacted by virtual human beings. Scarlett Johannsen and Daniel Craig can eke out a living doing live legit theater now. Not because their personas have been 'stolen' by CGI creatures but because 'Hollywood' no longer needs live bodies to create hot, sexy, dramatic 'content.' Tough beans John Cena and Rachel Weisz, Beyoncé and Eminem. You are now 'blacksmiths'.