David Greene, the long-time host of NPR's "Morning Edition," has recently filed a lawsuit against Google. Greene claims that the male voice generated by Google's AI note-taking tool, NotebookLM, is an illegal imitation of him.

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"My voice is my soul"

Greene, who currently hosts the KCRW radio program "Left, Right, and Center," said that after NotebookLM introduced its podcast feature, he received numerous inquiries from friends, family, and colleagues asking whether the AI voice was recorded by him. After comparing, Greene was convinced that the AI host's tone, manner of speaking, and even specific filler words like "um," were highly similar to his own. He emphasized, "My voice is one of the most important parts of me."

Google Response: It's a professional actor's voice

Responding to the accusation, a Google spokesperson denied it during an interview with The Washington Post. Google stated that the voice used in the audio summary of NotebookLM had nothing to do with Greene and was instead recorded by professional actors hired by the company.

AI personification raises new legal challenges

This is not the first time an AI giant has been involved in such controversy. Previously, OpenAI had to remove Sky, the voice assistant of ChatGPT, after it was found to bear an uncanny resemblance to the voice of Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson, leading to her complaint.