Poyzer caused quite a stir after posting a screengrab of an Email via Instagram, which she claims was sent to her by a production company working for the BBC, where she was informed that her services would be no longer required.
“Sorry for the delay", the post reads. "We had had the approval from BBC to use the AI generated voice so we won’t need Sara anymore". With this post, Sara Poyzer added the caption, “Sobering".
https://twitter.com/SaraPoyzer/status/1772758518233248242?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1772758518233248242%7Ctwgr%5Ef389ee312177656747bf64027f34199b6dda4b81%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nme.com%2Fnews%2Ftv%2Fai-voiceover-to-replace-mamma-mia-star-and-the-internet-is-very-angry-about-it-3611011
Poyzer's post led to a huge reaction on X, with fellow members from the creative industry expressing their anger and disgust at the mere suggestion that voiceover work could be taken away from human actors so easily.
“This is terrifying. I rely on VO work. You can already hear very convincing AI voices all over TikTok and there’s nothing stopping companies using it to save a few quid. We can’t trust people to do the right thing. Action needs to be taken", wrote comedian Seán Burke.
https://twitter.com/SeanBurkeShow/status/1772971711572353441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1772971711572353441%7Ctwgr%5Ef389ee312177656747bf64027f34199b6dda4b81%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nme.com%2Fnews%2Ftv%2Fai-voiceover-to-replace-mamma-mia-star-and-the-internet-is-very-angry-about-it-3611011
Comedian and The Thick Of It star, Chris Addison also added, “F*** very much that. Outrageous".
https://twitter.com/mrchrisaddison/status/1773126152820818100?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1773126152820818100%7Ctwgr%5Ef389ee312177656747bf64027f34199b6dda4b81%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nme.com%2Fnews%2Ftv%2Fai-voiceover-to-replace-mamma-mia-star-and-the-internet-is-very-angry-about-it-3611011
Podcaster and comedian Steve Martin also shared these sentiments.
“Most of my income comes from voiceovers. Without it I would have had to pick another career cos of money. This makes me want to explode", he scribed.
https://twitter.com/5tevieM/status/1772963992387932656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1772963992387932656%7Ctwgr%5Ef389ee312177656747bf64027f34199b6dda4b81%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nme.com%2Fnews%2Ftv%2Fai-voiceover-to-replace-mamma-mia-star-and-the-internet-is-very-angry-about-it-3611011
Podcaster Blindboy also replied, “The other day I saw a YouTube review for an AI robot lawnmower and it was written and narrated by AI".
https://twitter.com/bbboatclub/status/1773144623763825102?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1773144623763825102%7Ctwgr%5Ef389ee312177656747bf64027f34199b6dda4b81%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nme.com%2Fnews%2Ftv%2Fai-voiceover-to-replace-mamma-mia-star-and-the-internet-is-very-angry-about-it-3611011
