Boris Rehlinger might blend into the Parisian crowd, but his voice is instantly recognisable to millions of French cinema enthusiasts. As the French-language voice for Hollywood stars like Ben Affleck, Joaquin Phoenix, and even the animated Puss in Boots, Rehlinger is a celebrated figure behind the scenes. Now, he’s at the forefront of a battle to safeguard his profession in the rapidly evolving age of artificial intelligence.
“I feel threatened, even though AI hasn’t yet replaced my voice,” admits Rehlinger, a key member of TouchePasMaVF, a French initiative dedicated to protecting human-created dubbing from the encroachment of AI.
He emphasises the intricate teamwork involved in producing seamless dubbing. A dedicated team comprising actors, translators, production managers, dialogue adaptors, and sound engineers work diligently to ensure audiences are hardly aware that the actor on screen is speaking a different language from what they hear.
The proliferation of global streaming platforms like Netflix, which heavily relies on dubbing to create international hits such as “Squid Game” and “Lupin”, has significantly increased the demand for skilled voice actors.
According to consumer research firm GWI, a substantial 43% of viewers in Germany, France, Italy, and the UK prefer dubbed content over subtitles. This burgeoning market is projected to reach $4.3 billion by 2025 and soar to $7.6 billion by 2033, according to Business Research Insights.
This financial growth could also amplify the demand for technology-based solutions, with streaming platforms vying for subscribers and revenue and seeking to attract advertisers.
However, as AI-generated voices become increasingly sophisticated and cost-effective, voice actor industry associations across Europe are urging the EU to implement stricter regulations. They aim to protect the quality of dubbing, safeguard jobs, and prevent the unauthorised use of artists’ voice catalogues for future dubbed productions.
“We need legislation,” Rehlinger asserts, drawing a parallel to the advent of the automobile. “Just as we needed a highway code after the car replaced the horse-drawn carriage, we need a framework to govern the use of AI in our industry.”
Concerns about technology potentially displacing human workers in the film industry are not new. AI has been a contentious issue in Hollywood, particularly during the labour disputes of 2023, which resulted in the implementation of new guidelines for its use.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos recently revealed that the company employed generative AI to produce visual effects for the first time in its original series “El Eternauta (The Eternaut)”.
Furthermore, Netflix has been experimenting with GenAI to synchronise actors’ lip movements with dubbed dialogue, aiming to enhance the viewing experience, according to sources familiar with the project.
These experiments utilise local voice actors to deliver the lines, rather than relying on AI to synthetically translate the on-screen performer’s voice into another language. This particular application of AI for dubbing is permissible under the new SAG-AFTRA actors’ union contract, which covers voice-over dubbing from foreign languages into English. The contract also mandates that actors providing dubbing services receive appropriate compensation.
Netflix declined to comment specifically on its use of AI in dubbing.
Intellectual Property Concerns
Such trials by an industry giant are unlikely to quell the anxieties of dubbing actors. In Germany, a campaign by 12 prominent dubbing actors went viral on TikTok, amassing 8.7 million views, with the message: “Let’s protect artistic, not artificial, intelligence.”
A petition initiated by the VDS voice actors’ association, calling on German and EU lawmakers to compel AI companies to obtain explicit consent before using artists’ voices to train their technology, and to fairly compensate them while transparently labelling AI-generated content, has garnered over 75,500 signatures.
Cedric Cavatore, a VDS member who has dubbed films and video games, including “Final Fantasy VII Remake”, argues that if intellectual property is no longer protected, creativity will be stifled. “No one will produce anything anymore because they’ll think, ‘Tomorrow it will be stolen from me anyway’.”
The VDS collaborates with United Voice Artists, a global network of over 20,000 voice actors advocating for ethical AI use and fair contracts.
In the United States, Hollywood video game voice and motion capture actors recently signed a new contract with video game studios that addresses AI concerns. SAG-AFTRA hailed the agreement as a significant step forward in providing protections against the technology.
Studios Experiment Cautiously
Some studios are already exploring AI’s potential with caution. Eberhard Weckerle, managing director of Neue Tonfilm Muenchen studio, hopes that AI and human dubbing can eventually coexist harmoniously.
“The fear is that AI will be used to make something as cheaply as possible, and then people will say, ‘Okay, I’ll accept that I’ll have poorer quality’. And that would be the worst thing that could happen to us,” says the sound engineer, whose studio worked on the German version of “Conclave” and is currently dubbing Guy Ritchie’s latest film.
Earlier this year, the German-dubbed version of Viaplay’s Polish crime series “Murderesses” was withdrawn following criticism from viewers regarding the monotonous nature of its AI-generated dialogue.
The streaming service had explored alternative dubbing options due to the prohibitively high costs associated with traditional dubbing methods in Germany. The hybrid dubbing, created in collaboration with Israeli startup DeepDub, combined human and AI voices.
Vanda Rapti, the executive vice president of ViaPlay Group, ViaPlay Select & Content distribution, stated, “We’ll continue offering subtitles and reserve dubbing for select content.”
Despite the controversy surrounding that particular series, other potential viewers appear more accepting. According to GWI, nearly half of viewers indicated that their opinion would not change if they learned that the content they enjoyed was generated by AI. Approximately 25% said they would like it slightly less, while only 3% said they would like it much more.
‘Interest Is Huge’
Stefan Sporn, CEO of Audio Innovation Lab, which used AI to dub the Cannes Film Festival entry “Black Dog” from Chinese to German, believes that AI will reshape, but not replace, voice work.
He argues that humans will always be essential for capturing emotion, crafting scripts, and conveying language nuances, “just not to the same extent.”
Audio Innovation Lab’s technology modifies the original actor’s voice to align with the target language, striving for both authenticity and efficiency.
“Interest is huge,” says Sporn, adding that producers, studios, and advertisers are all eager to assess the technology’s capabilities.
Another startup, Flawless AI, positions itself as an ethical AI company that collaborates with local voice actors and utilises its technology to synchronise the on-screen actor’s lip movements with the different languages.
Co-CEO Scott Mann believes that “When AI technologies are used in the right way, they are a silver bullet to change how we can film-make in a new way.”
