A slew of pornographic Skyrim mods using AI technology to clone voices of real actors for non-consensual pornography has ignited mounting anger among voice actors and the National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA).
The controversy has emerged just a day before the highly anticipated release of Elder Scrolls 6 and The Elder Scrolls Online: Tempest, raising concerns about the potential impact of synthetic voices and AI on the future quality of Elder Scrolls games.
Robbie92_, a Twitter user, compiled a comprehensive list of voice actors from Skyrim whose voices have been used without their consent in NSFW mods on Nexus Mods. The list includes prominent actors like April Stewart, known for voicing Lydia in the game, Jon Curry, recognized as the voice of Sheogorath in the Shivering Isles expansion, and Susan Eisenberg, celebrated for her portrayal of the Daedric Prince Azura.
The National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA) responded to the mounting controversy, stating, "This is not okay. The damage caused by AI and synthetic voices is too often dismissed as an unfair consequence of progress, and we won't accept that. We urge Bethesda Studios, Zenimax Online, and the industry at large to take action."
Other acclaimed voice actors, including Linsay Rousseau (known for her work on Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Starfield) and Jennifer Hale (known for her contributions to Skyrim, Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Starfield), have also expressed their opposition to the unauthorized use of their voices in AI-generated synthetic pornography.
Abbey Veffer, renowned for her voice acting in The Elder Scrolls Online and Genshin Impact, strongly disapproved of the use of her voice for AI synthesis. Veffer urged those responsible to reconsider their actions, stating, "I am absolutely not okay with this, and I hope the people who made this will reconsider what they're doing."
Robbie92_ has compiled a list of mods that employ AI cloning for non-consensual pornographic content, including The SexLab Lovers, Skyrim Sex, Sex With Serana, and The Talos Principle mods.
Stewart has reached out to Robbie92_ after finding the Google doc helpful in contacting her agent and requesting the removal of the content. Robbie92_ emphasizes the importance of focusing on taking down such content rather than fighting against the use of AI in general. "Fighting against AI use en-masse would require significant time, money, and labor. It's a systemic issue that needs to be addressed. Fighting against AI use would be like fighting against digitally scanned faces and body scans—it's just not the right path to take," Robbie92_ explains.
The author of this article has also reached out to Robbie92_ for further information.
If you are a voice actor whose voice has been used in an AI-generated mod without your consent and would like to be included in the list, please DM Robbie92_ on Twitter.
In the meantime, Nexus Mods' current approach to AI-generated work on its platform appears to be unsatisfactory, as indicated by a recent tweet from the mod site. Nexus Mods states, "If a credible complaint is received from an affected creator/rights holder and the content is found to violate our policy, it will be removed." However, given the existence of a live document tracking these mods, this solution is unlikely to satisfy all parties involved.
Elder Scrolls 6 is set to launch tomorrow, followed by The Elder Scrolls Online: Tempest shortly after.
