Royal Mail AI Ad Clones Deceased Narrator's Voice, Causing Family Distress

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Royal Mail used AI to generate a voiceover in a Christmas advert that closely mimicked the late BBC broadcaster Paul Vaughan without his family's consent. The incident caused emotional distress to Vaughan's family and raised concerns about rights violations, consent, and ethical use of AI-generated voices in the UK.[AI generated]

Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?

The article describes the use of AI to recreate a deceased person's voice without consent, which constitutes a violation of rights under applicable law protecting personality and intellectual property rights. The AI system's use directly led to this harm, fulfilling the criteria for an AI Incident. The controversy and admission by Royal Mail confirm the AI system's involvement in causing harm, even if the company denies intent to replicate a specific individual.[AI generated]
AI principles
Respect of human rightsPrivacy & data governance
Industries
Media, social platforms, and marketing
Affected stakeholders
General public
Harm types
PsychologicalHuman or fundamental rights
Business function:
Marketing and advertisement
AI system task:
Content generation

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