AN ARTS union has slammed ScotRail and Lothian Buses for using the voice data of Scottish actors without consent to create AI announcers — and are supporting calls for new legislation to protect them.
Julie Coombe, actress and chair of Cairn — a not-for-profit union of professionals working in the performing arts in Scotland — has called on MSPs to "ask questions of Scotrail" and others after the government-owned train operator recently rolled out AI voice “Iona” on some routes and replaced older messages recorded one of their members, Fletcher Mathers.
Mathers, who has been the voice of ScotRail trains for 20 years, told The National of how she was not informed of the switch to AI and only learned she was being replaced after a friend heard the new synthetic voice onboard.
Scottish voiceover artist and actress Gayanne Potter has also said made headlines after she revealed "Iona" is based on recordings she made in 2021.
Now, in a widely shared Facebook post, Potter said ScotRail is dismissing her concerns, asking the company: “Why continue to choose a dreadful AI version of me when I’m right here?”
Coombe said: "Legally, they haven't done anything wrong, but Gayanne did not consent to the use of her voice by the Swedish company for this, and again, Fletcher only found out because somebody informed her — she wasn't told by ScotRail.
"There’s an awful lot of lack of consent and lack of consideration going on here with this issue. We know AI is part of the landscape as creatives, but what we as an organisation feel there is a need to be new legislative protections put in place for people, and to protect artists' rights."
She added: "Acting is a profession not a hobby. Jobbing actors still exist and we are professionals. Most jobbing actors are low earners who rely on side hustles to survive so anything like the work for free for a laugh or cheap AI replacements is a much bigger threat than it might seem.
"After what the world went through in 2020 I thought we'd learned the value of people. I know I'd rather hear a human voice on my train. I think most people would."
One of Cairn's members wrote to their local MSP requesting action on the issue, and now the union is sharing a template to members to encourage them to also raise concerns with their representatives.
Coombe also highlighted a second woman who has accused an AI company of “stealing her vocal soul," this time for Edinburgh bus operator Lothian announcements.
Diane Brooks has said her voice recordings made 11 years ago for Acapela, a Belgian company, had been used to created a synthetic voice known as “Rhona”.
Coombe said: "We really feel we’re at a point in our industry where you're up against new hurdles almost daily.
"And now none of the companies are actually sticking their head above the parapet and saying, 'oh, by the way, you're actually being used there'."
A spokesman for ReadSpeaker previously said: “ReadSpeaker is aware of Ms Potter’s concerns.
“ReadSpeaker and Ms Potter have a contract regarding the use of her voice.
“ReadSpeaker has comprehensively addressed Ms Potter’s concerns with her legal representative several times in the past.”
Phil Campbell, ScotRail customer operations director, also addressed the concerns, adding: “We are always looking at ways to improve the customer journey experience, and we know how important both on-train and at-station announcements are.
“The use of an automated voice allows us to have more control over the announcements being made, ensures consistency for customers, and gives us flexibility to make changes at short notice.
“ScotRail has always used automated announcements in relation to customer information, but it doesn’t replace human interaction through either with pre-recorded audio or staff on trains – something that will continue.
“We are working closely with Network Rail and other train-operating companies to continue making improvements across Scotland’s railway, and we are hopeful of further developments in the coming months.”
The rail operator has told the BBC it does not intend to remove the AI voice from its trains.
A spokesperson for Lothian, which is owned by the City Of Edinburgh Council, said: “We have two different passenger information systems in use. One uses a recording of a commissioned voice artist for mp3 playback, and the other uses a text-to-speech engine to synthesize a voice.
“Lothian is a licensed user of the text-to-speech engine, which originates from our equipment supplier and as such we were not involved in its creation.”
