Australian voice actors stripped of work and consent as AI copies flood market
Voice actor Jacqui Duncan earned 30% less last year as AI replicas undercut her rates without consent.
Voice actor Jacqui Duncan has narrated more than 5000 Australian radio and television commercials but earned 30% less last financial year as AI replicas undercut her rates. Duncan told a NSW parliamentary committee she owns none of the commercials she voiced.
Clients increasingly use AI versions without seeking permission or paying her. Duncan now works a second job.
"I never gave consent for my work to be taken," Duncan said. The Australian Association of Voice Actors reported members are 62% down on work in the past 12 months.
Commonwealth Bank gave an employee of 25 years one day's notice. A chatbot would take over her job after she trained it.
At Aldi's NSW distribution centres, new picking benchmarks arrived without consultation with workers. Management reported throughput up 16% and labour costs down 26%.
Workers report strain and injuries. OpenAI's Jason Kwon appeared before the same committee and apologised for accessing non-public Medicare statistics files in June.
- 30% less last financial year
- Earnings drop
- 62% down in 12 months
- Sector work decline
- More than 5000
- Commercials voiced
Why it mattersAustralia's copyright laws will decide whether AI companies train models on local content, meaning copyright holders, not performers, stand to gain from AI training.
AustraliaAustralian voice actors, retail workers and bank staff are already losing income and job security to AI without agreements on retraining or support, unlike car workers who received $380 million when plants closed.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
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