The family of Paddington Bear audiobooks narrator Paul Vaughan have accused the Royal Mail of using AI to recreate his voice in a Christmas advert.
asserted
family → accuse → advert
Former BBC broadcaster Mr Vaughan, who died aged 89 in November 2014, also narrated shows such as science series Horizon and nuclear drama Threads.
But his children were surprised when hearing what sounded like his authoritative tones in a Royal Mail ad aired last Christmas.
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what → die → ad
The campaign with the slogan 'So much more than just a card' was overseen by advertising agency Darwin & The Machines.
Royal Mail has said that using AI for such voiceovers was 'increasingly common'.
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using → oversee → voiceovers
A spokesman also said the ad was 'not designed to replicate any specific individual'.
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ad → say → individual
Mr Vaughan's daughter Lucy Wynne has now been speaking of her shock at hearing what sounded like her father in the advert shown on TV last November.
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what → speak → TV
She recalled telling her husband: 'F***ing hell, that was Dad.
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that → recall → husband
Did you hear that?'
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you → hear → that
Ex-BBC broadcaster Paul Vaughan is pictured outside his former home in a show called The Street Where I Was Born
His family say his voice has been recreated in a Royal Mail advert broadcast last Christmas
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voice → picture → advert
Mrs Wynne says her father had not worked for the Royal Mail and she believes his voice was manipulated and recreated without the family's permission.
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voice → say → permission
She said: 'It's outrageous.
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It → say → ?
He could have died two weeks ago, for all they knew.
uncertain
they → die → all
'He could have been in the care home for the past 10 years, slowly losing his capacity for speech, and then all of a sudden, he's on the bloody telly.
uncertain
he → lose → telly
'They have not bothered to do their background searches to figure out who this voice is.'
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voice → bother → searches
She also said her father would have loathed AI taking work away from fellow voiceover specialists, adding: 'Pay the money and get somebody in to do the job.'
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AI → say → job
Vincent Hughes, a professor of forensic speech science at the University of York, told Deadline of there being 'considerable phonetic similarity' between the voice in the Royal Mail adverts and Mr Vaughan's.
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Hughes → tell → adverts
He described overlap in 'segmental patterns', how vowels and consonants are pronounced, as well as 'overall voice quality'.
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vowels → describe → patterns
An obituary of Mr Vaughan by the Telegraph in 2014 said: 'When God speaks, he uses Paul Vaughan’s voice.'
Paul Vaughan narrated BBC series including Horizon and Kaleidoscope
Royal Mail has said, following questions about the ad, that using AI was 'increasingly common'
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using → say → AI
He was the main narrator of BBC science show Horizon from 1968 to 1995, while also voicing Radio 4 arts programme Kaleidoscope between 1973 and 1998.
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He → voice → 1973
Mr Vaughan's work on adverts included announcing mobile phone network Orange's 'The future's bright, the future's Orange' and Tesco's 'Every little helps'.
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little → include → Orange
He also read HarperCollins-published audiobooks of the Paddington Bear stories.
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He → read → stories
The Royal Mail advert's production is reported to have been subcontracted by Darwin & The Machines to Czechia-based firm Fameplay.
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production → report → Fameplay
That company is funded by Czech Media Invest, chaired by Daniel Kretinsky, majority shareholder of West Ham United and whose EP Group owns Royal Mail.
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Group → fund → Mail
A Royal Mail spokesman said: 'The Christmas advertisement was produced for Royal Mail by external partners and featured real actors.
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advertisement → say → actors
'As is increasingly common, the voiceover was AI-generated and we were advised that it was created using prompts and was not designed to replicate any specific individual.
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it → generate → individual
The production partners also carried out checks and advised that these did not identify any resemblance concerns.
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these → carry → concerns
Darwin & The Machines and Czech Media Invest have been approached for comment.
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Invest → approach → comment
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