Channel 10 news presenter Sandra Sully has had her voice replicated by artificial intelligence in a podcast without her permission.
The 59-year-old veteran journalist appeared on The Project on Wednesday to discuss her shock on hearing the ‘fake’ version of her well known voice.
An AI version of Sully’s voice was used in a true crime podcast ‘reading’ a headline involving a case of child abuse.
Before the segment was played during the podcast, the show’s producers acknowledged that it was not in fact Sully’s actual voice.
They later told The Project it was not technically illegal to use an AI generated voice of an actual person without permission.
Channel 10 news presenter Sandra Sully has had her voice replicated by artificial intelligence in a podcast without her permission. Pictured
The 59-year-old veteran journalist appeared on The Project on Wednesday to discuss her shock on hearing the ‘fake’ version of her well known voice. Pictured: Sarah Harris, left
‘I did not record that voice but when I heard it it sounded just like me,’ she told The Project’s Sarah Harris.
She added: ‘I ran it by a couple of my colleagues and they said, ”Gosh it sounds just like you.”‘
Sully said that she did not feel ‘violated’ over the AI incident but it did leave her feeling ‘alarmed’.
‘The more I thought about it… if it was that easy to rip off your voice that’s pretty uncomfortable because you don’t know where this is going to end,’ she continued.
An AI version of Sully’s voice was used in a true crime podcast ‘reading’ a headline involving a case of child abuse. She has been part of the Ten News team since 1990 and was the first Australian journalist to break the news of the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001
Sully, who began her career at Channel 10 in Brisbane, currently presents 10 News First Sydney
‘So if I’m arguably some trusted voice in news then how can that be manipulated and for what purposes good, bad or evil? And that’s pretty scary.’
Sully, who has been on TV for 30 years as a journalist, appeared to see her AI ‘rip off’ experience as a warning, telling viewers:
‘When you are in our business and we were always banging on about the importance of trusted news sources and services this is a reminder that you can’t always believe everything you see hear or read,’ she continued.
‘And you must make sure it comes from a reliable source.’
Sully, who began her career at Channel 10 in Brisbane, currently presents 10 News First Sydney.
She has been part of the Ten News team since 1990 and was the first Australian journalist to break the news of the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
