A new ‘Witcher 3’ mod uses tech that’s ethically questionable and what one actor calls “utterly soulless.” But can anything be done about it

Voice AI is scary good now. Video game actors hate it.

submited by

Style Pass

2021-06-27 13:30:05

A new ‘Witcher 3’ mod uses tech that’s ethically questionable and what one actor calls “utterly soulless.” But can anything be done about it?

Game modder nikich340 recently released a The Witcher 3 PC mod called A Night to Remember. The mod takes off after events from the Blood and Wine expansion, with protagonist Geralt of Rivia once more taking up the hunt for Orianna.

Fans of the game were stoked to have a new, albeit unofficial addition to The Witcher 3 to play. Voice actors and some other observers, however, were less than thrilled. You see, A Night to Remember not only features new content, it features new voice lines. Specifically, the modder used AI trained on voice actor Doug Cockle’s speech to generate brand new voice lines for Geralt, the character he portrays.

“If this is true, this is just heartbreaking,” tweeted Jay Britton, a voice actor with credits in Divinity: Original Sin 2 and Pathfinder. “Yes, AI might be able to replace things but should it? We literally get to decide. Replacing actors with AI is not only a legal minefield but an utterly soulless choice.”