David Greene, the well-known host of NPR’s ‘Morning Edition,’ has filed a lawsuit against Google. Greene alleges that the male podcast voice featured in Google’s NotebookLM tool closely resembles his own voice, as reported by The Washington Post.
Greene expressed concern after receiving feedback from acquaintances pointing out the striking similarity in cadence, intonation, and speech patterns, including the use of filler words like ‘uh.’ He emphasized the significance of his voice, stating, ‘My voice is, like, the most important part of who I am.’
Google’s NotebookLM tool enables users to create podcasts using AI-generated hosts. While Greene believes the voice is modeled after him, a Google spokesperson clarified that the male voice in NotebookLM’s Audio Overviews is actually based on a professional actor hired by the company.
This incident isn’t the first involving AI voices resembling real individuals. For instance, OpenAI faced a similar situation when actress Scarlett Johansson objected to a ChatGPT voice imitating her own.
Source: TechCrunch