AI is Scaring Japanese Voice Actors (With good reason) | SEIYUU LOUNGE EP.205

This is one of the most talked about topics in the voice acting industry in Japan. There is a genuine worry about how AI may completely mess up the industry, take jobs, and make it even harder for aspiring seiyuu to do what they love as a career.
In this episode, let’s talk about some of the insights by Yuki Kaji in an interview for NHK early this year, Junichi Suwabe’s take on AI, and the opinion from the Japanese Actors Association.
By the end of this episode let’s cover the cases in which using AI-technology can actually be something that can benefit some seiyuu.
This is the 2nd of 2 features on AI and its influence in the voice acting industry in Japan - specifically.
Sources:
www.soyogi-fractal.com/#about
/ kaji_project
/ 1785813721648132239
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/ 1734076041348456821
news.ubisoft.com/en-us/articl...
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[@Unwelcomez]

08:02 THIS. I'm worried about the new gen of seiyuu. You need to consider that despite all the training, nothing guarantees that seiyuu will have a big role in their debut. 08:53 "Ai comes to steal their jobs? Fan create content with their voices and don't pay them for that?" Best quote. Now you can consider yourself a "fan" without giving respect to the seiyuu? For me, it is ironic. However, it is important to educate ourselves and be respectful to others in that aspect,but that doesn't mean we need to keep silent. 11:03 In the end, we can not ban Ai. Instead, seiyuu can you use it in their favor.

[@thtfhq]

The next generations have it rough: having to look almost like idols to attract the attention of fans and now, AI as competition for entry-level roles in anime and games. If AI isn't countered in a smart way, it could very well change voice acting as a career in Japan into something seiyuu themselves will no longer recognize. And it'll make it even harder to join in the industry and thrive. I worry about this a lot - as good as AI can be in some cases. And yeah, on the topic of fans using AI to satisfy their... let's say... wishes of having their favorites wherever they want: that's next level disrespect for their favorites. Using someone's voice without their permission and especially those who create viral videos with those AI covers and cash in on seiyuu's voices... they're the lowest of the low. They're exactly the problem that Yuki Kaji and the Japan Actors' association are trying to counter. Yeah, the voice acting industry will have to find a crafty way to coexist with AI without it taking their jobs. I honestly don't know how - in Japan they want to ban AI in these cases - but let's see. Thanks for the comment, Unwelcome! 😁

[@Pripara_Starry_Night]

As someone who is giving her best to learn Japanese to be a Japanese voice actor, I really think it's disrespectful to earn money through AI while the voice actors who own their voices as well as the copyright of their voices earn nothing. Before I knew about voice actors, I thought it was cool that there are AI Covers and stuffs like this nowadays. But after getting to know the hardships of the voice acting industry, my mindset changed completely. It's not only about voice acting, also about Idol industry, Anime, Manga, .... AI is really hurting many many industries and many people lose their job because of that. While watching this video, I searched on Twitter/X with the Hashtag you mentioned in Japanese. There, I could really see how many people use AI hoping it would get them more success while there are many people who are really mad. Of course, there are good sides about AI but if there are people who have bad intentions or even good intention using AI hurting Artists, then there should be people who will actively confront them with their statements against AI and stand up for people who are losing money because of AI. Just wanted to share my opinion :)

[@thtfhq]

First of all, sending you all the support to achieve your dream! 💪 Rooting for ya! 😁 Yeah, using someone's voice - a professional or not - without their consent and earning money with that is... despicable in my eyes. A lot is talked in the voice acting industry in Japan about how voice actors really don't earn much if they stick to only anime series (and that the success of an anime series doesn't mean more money for seiyuu). Now, with fans going all crazy about using AI to replicate their voices just to please themselves... things get even more messed up. That shift in your perspective is something I wish fans - even if they are not aiming to become voice actors - would do. Just stop a minute and put themselves in the shoes of a seiyuu. And then assess if they'd like to have their voice... "stolen". I feel that this would an eye opener for many alas, most fans could care less about that, that's why AI has been rampant and quickly worries some of the biggest names in the industry. You make a really good point - various, actually. AI has good sides but it feels that, up until now, only the bad ones have been visible. I believe the japan actor's association will manage to crack down usage of AI by fans (only in Japan though) but then again... NHK and other TV channels already use AI voice over for some sections in the news or other informative shows in the early morning so... I feel like the industry really needs to find a way of having AI helping those who have, for example, health issues throughout their careers but, other than that, to be strickly regulated to avoid seiyuu having to, yet again, branch out to do other things just to ensure they get enough money to get by. Here's to hoping that, when you join the industry, things are better and AI is not a big a threat as it is right now!

[@genie5689]

I don't like the topic of AI at all, I remember I did it as a report in my social studies class (Kaji-san's interview). With AI getting more and more developed I feel like the seiyuu will have more advantages like being able to synth their voices for maybe hiatuses because of sickness but the bad side is that some people have bad intentions, so if they do decide on it, people will probably try and end their careers with it, like what you said scandals. With the rise of company's using AI to voice background characters I feel like current and newbie seiyuu will quit or lose their love for acting, with the current and veteran seiyuu, they had to work so hard just to win the role of a background character in anime, it feels like all their hardwork was nothing if AI can just do it all in one shot. So I think the industry can and can't benefit from AI. It's like a 50/50 question, it depends on how it goes in the future but hope it does not destroy our current industry.

[@thtfhq]

Yeah, as exciting as AI can be, it can also be a bit messed up, especially if you dig deep on its possibilities. Deepfakes and voice cloning are freakin' scary for seiyuu, especially because any delusional fan or news outlet can use those and... literally end someone's career right there. This worries me a lot and there's no way to regulate it so far. The singing covers pose a different problem - performance rights - and when seiyuu earn so little money (especially because not all are superstars like Kaji or Suwabe), people using their voices and earning money with that is despicable. A good way to regulate this - as so to mitigate the problem - would be to remove monetization for those people/channels doing that stuff. That still doesn't stop the problem completely because they'd quickly take that to discord servers and if there's one thing everyone knows is how rampant copyright infringement is on private discord groups... Videogame companies using AI to replace voice actors... if that becomes a trend... the voice acting industry literaly will not recover from it. Either they adapt fast to avoid suffering with the mass usage of AI in games or, like Suwabe mentioned, voice acting as a career might not be a thing in the coming years. I'm hoping what Kaji is doing ends up being a good way to counter the effects of AI in the voice acting industry - and becomes a trend, helping safeguard the careers of many seiyuu. In another way, I'll be following the developments to see if Japan ends up regulating AI in some way, fingers crossed they find a good middle ground that opens doors to innovation but doesn't ruin seiyuu's careers. Thanks for the comment, Genie! 😁