AI and Ethics

Protecting voices, identity and likeness

We are extremely concerned by the current lack of clear regulation around artificial intelligence in the UK.

It is completely unacceptable for a voiceover artist’s (or any individual’s) voice, likeness, or identity to be cloned and used without their explicit permission.

The UK government itself has recognised the growing risks around "digital replicas" and the potential harm caused when someone’s voice or image is reproduced without consent (report March 2026).

We believe:

• Consent must be explicit, informed, and revocable
• Licensing must be required before any use of a person’s voice or likeness
• Individuals must retain control over how their identity is used
• Enforcement must be meaningful and accessible

We are actively in favour of stronger legal protections for voiceover artists and are supportive of efforts to introduce clearer rights and enforcement in this area.

Copyright, data, and AI training

We are not opposed to AI as a technology.

However, we believe that AI models must be trained responsibly, and within a framework that respects creators’ rights.

The UK government has highlighted the importance of:

• Licensing of copyright works
• Transparency over training data
• Enforcement of rights

We strongly support this direction.

Our position is simple:

• AI models should only be trained on data that has been lawfully accessed and properly licensed
• Creators should be fairly compensated for the use of their work
• There must be transparency over what data has been used
• There should be no assumption of consent

Where we believe AI has a place

We recognise that AI can be useful when used appropriately.

We believe properly licensed text-to-speech systems can be suitable for:

• Guide tracks and placeholders during production
• Internal or temporary content
• Accessibility use cases
• Situations where a person cannot use their voice due to medical or other reasons

In these contexts, AI can be a helpful tool, not a replacement.

Why we don’t recommend AI voices to clients

We find AI voices:

• Time-consuming to refine to an acceptable standard
• Often lacking the nuance and authenticity of real performance
• Legally uncertain in terms of licensing and rights
• Potentially damaging to brand reputation

For these reasons, we do not recommend AI-generated voices for professional client work.

AI as a tool, not a substitute

We do use AI tools internally, including services like ChatGPT, to assist with tasks such as writing, organisation and development.

However:

• AI is used as a tool, not a replacement for people
• Creative output remains human-led and human-approved
• We do not use AI to replicate or imitate real voices

Our wider ethics

Our approach to ethics goes beyond AI.

We have seen many companies follow a familiar pattern... prioritising growth and disruption, often backed by venture capital, before shifting towards aggressive monetisation at the expense of users and creators.

We have deliberately chosen a different path.

• We are independent
• We have no external shareholders or venture capital pressures
• We are free to stay true to our original values

We believe this matters.

How we operate

• We only use real voice artists
• We avoid stock and AI-generated imagery on our website, our visuals reflect real people, real work, our real studios
• We have been operating since 1998, with a long-standing reputation in the industry
• We aim to pay all supplier invoices at the end of each month, regardless of whether we have been paid by the client

We believe in fairness and long-term relationships.