The Harlan Ellison Facebook Fan Club page brought the following to my attention: a Youtube channel (Ellison.exe) that is using AI to generate likenesses of Ellison speaking Ellison quotes in Ellison’s voice. (If you’ve ever heard Harlan speaking, it is unmistakable).
The channel states that it is unaffiliated and unauthorized, and they’ve apparently changed things so that the avatar of Ellison does not as closely resemble Harlan as it apparently used to…but
I think speaking Harlan’s words, especially in an electronic media, is infringing.
I know that Harlan’s name is trademarked, and I’m pretty sure that an attorney could make a very good case that despite the site not using his full name and altering the facial features still doesn’t protect it from deliberately causing confusion in the market place (which is the usual tactic when it comes to dealing with “look-a-likes”).
This is, of course, problematic, but perhaps not in the anti-AI way that most would expect. I think, insofar as rights are concerned, current laws are sufficient to deal with such blatant infringement – should the estate decide to take action. (Why it might or might not want to is a whole other, several layers deep, discussion.)
No, the problem is what this represents. The EASE at which someone was able to use presumably very low-cost tools to effectively imitate a known personality. That capability has been there for a while, but it is now beginning to intrude into the common, every day affairs of people. This is dangerous. It’s the wild west for pranks, and for scammers.
My SFnal prediction? This is going to lead to further isolation and division.
Steve Davidson is the publisher of Amazing Stories.
Steve has been a passionate fan of science fiction since the mid-60s, before he even knew what it was called.
