Channel 10 news presenter Sandra Sully had her voice replicated by artificial intelligence in a podcast without her consent.
The 59-year-old veteran journalist appeared on The Project on Wednesday to discuss her shock at hearing the ‘fake’ version of her famous voice.
An AI version of Sully’s voice was used in a true crime podcast that “read out” a headline about a child abuse case.
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 that it wasn’t technically illegal to use an AI-generated voice of a real person without permission.
Channel 10 news presenter Sandra Sully had her voice replicated by artificial intelligence in a podcast without her consent. Pictured
The 59-year-old veteran journalist appeared on The Project on Wednesday to discuss her shock at hearing the ‘fake’ version of her famous voice. Pictured: Sarah Harris, left
“I didn’t record that voice, but when I heard it, it sounded exactly like me,” she told The Project’s Sarah Harris.
She added: “I had some of my colleagues read it and they said, ‘Gosh, it sounds just like you.’
Sully said she didn’t feel “violated” because of the AI incident, but she did feel “alarmed.”
“The more I thought about it… if it was that easy to turn off your voice, it’s quite uncomfortable because you don’t know where this is going to end up,” she continued.
An AI version of Sully’s voice was used in a true crime podcast that “read out” a headline about a child abuse case. She has been part of the Ten News team since 1990 and was the first Australian journalist to cover the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001
Sully, who started her career at Channel 10 in Brisbane, currently presents 10 News First Sydney
“So if I am demonstrably a trusted voice in the news, how can that be manipulated and for what purposes, good, bad or evil? And that’s quite scary.’
Sully, who has been on TV as a journalist for 30 years, seemed to see her AI experience with ‘dropping’ as a warning, telling viewers:
“If you’re in our industry and we were always talking about the importance of trustworthy news sources and services, this reminds you that you can’t always believe everything you see, hear or read,” she continued.
“And you have to make sure it comes from a reputable source.”
Sully, who started 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 report on the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.