Steve Downes, the iconic voice behind Master Chief from the Halo franchise, has joined the chorus of high-profile voice actors speaking out against the use of AI in voice performances. However, his concern is very specifically related to the alarming prospect of developers using real voice recordings to make AI clones of those voices.
In a YouTube AMA going live today, Downes made it very clear that he does not approve of anyone using AI to replicate his voice. "That's where we cross a line that gets into an area that I am uncomfortable with," Downes said in a clip taken from the AMA and shared to his official YouTube channel.
"I'm not a proponent. I don't like it, and I would prefer that it not be done," Downes added.
While he's clearly passionate about the issue of AI in voice acting, Downes struck a measured tone and clarified that he believes AI has "many, many positive effects on not only showbusiness but humanity in general" - but that it "can also be something that deprives the actor of his work.
"I'll go on the record with that," Downes said.
Yeah, all in all, not exactly a full-throated rebuke of generative AI in game development. Certainly not an endorsement either, but Downes limited his critiques of AI to its voice cloning abilities, whereas you've got actors like Neil Newbon, who played Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3, straight-up saying "fuck AI" and "there's no fucking way" AI could make anything like Baldur's Gate 3. Hating AI is a spectrum, I suppose is what I'm saying.
Downes, rather excitingly, is returning to voice Master Chief for Halo: Campaign Evolved, Halo Studios' ground-up remake of the 2001 FPS classic, Combat Evolved. Notably, one of the project's lead developers said last October that AI is "a tool in a toolbox" comparable to Photoshop, but assured "the people are the ones who are creating the game."
