Amid growing concerns over job displacement and unethical use of digital replicas, an urgent call has been made for Australia to impose stricter regulations on artificial intelligence (AI). This plea follows alarming testimonies at the Senate’s Adopting Artificial Intelligence inquiry, where incidents of AI misuse in creative industries were highlighted. Australia Urgently Needs AI Restrictions to Protect Workers, Inquiry Told
AI’s Impact on Creative Jobs
The inquiry revealed that AI technology has already been deployed to cut creative jobs and replace humans with digital clones. One stark example involved a voice actor whose contract was abruptly canceled, only to have his voice replicated using AI without his consent. Another disturbing case saw a digital voice used in a pornographic advertisement without the original actor’s approval.
Voices from the Frontline
Cooper Mortlock, a member of the Media and Entertainment Arts Alliance (MEAA) and a voice actor, shared his personal experience with the inquiry. Mortlock’s work on an animated series was terminated prematurely when producers opted to use an AI tool to clone his voice.
“When we reached about episode 30 of the promised 52 episodes, our producer canceled the contract, saying ‘we’ve decided to discontinue making the series’,” Mortlock recounted. “A year later, after the contract had finished, they released another episode using what was obviously an AI copy of my voice and the other actors’ voices.”
Despite initial denials, the company eventually clarified that Mortlock’s employment contract permitted the use of AI technology, highlighting the need for more explicit contractual protections for workers.
Misuse of Digital Voices
Teresa Lim, Vice-President of the Australian Association of Voice Actors, presented another chilling example. An Australian actor, who had recorded clips to create a digital voice under a contract prohibiting use in “profane or inappropriate content,” found her distinct voice used in an explicit pornography advertisement on PornHub.
“Without proper regulation in place, any voice could be used for any agenda,” Lim warned. “We need safeguards to protect the ownership of our voices.”
Call for Stronger Protections
Digital Rights Watch founder Lizzie O’Shea emphasized the need for broader protections covering voice, likeness, and biometric data, along with stringent consent regulations. “Our laws are decades out of date,” O’Shea stated. “There has to be structural interventions that limit the use of personal information and seek to put limits on data-extracted business models.”
Protecting Indigenous and Literary Works
The inquiry also heard from Australian Writers Guild group chief executive Claire Pullen, who highlighted the theft of works from local authors and First Nations storytellers by tech giants to train AI models. Pullen called for regulations to ensure AI firms allow copyright holders to check if their work has been used and request its removal.
“Establishing an obligation for platforms operating in Australia to make their so-called training data discoverable would be really helpful,” Pullen said.
Advocating for Sovereign AI Models
Adelaide University’s Anton van den Hengel advocated for the development of sovereign AI models to ensure ethical behavior and capture Australian values. “The first step is that we should build our own language model,” he said. “This is critical in order that we might have a language model that captures Australian values and that leverages that trust.”
Looking Ahead
The Senate inquiry is expected to issue its findings on the opportunities and impacts of AI in September. As the debate continues, the urgent need for comprehensive AI regulations to protect Australian workers and ensure ethical use remains clear.
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