AI voice acting is changing modding, and it's killing one of the best parts of the scene: The amateur voice actor with a cheap headset mic

SoftwareAIAI voice acting is changing modding, and it’s killing one of the best parts of the scene: The amateur voice actor with a cheap headset micWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Dagoth Ur, the final boss of Morrowind, stands with hands on hips.

Wherever you go, there it is: AI voice tools for New Vegas, AI Voices for Better Dungeons in Oblivion,Tucker Carlson Interviews Dagoth Ur. More and more, AI voice acting is seeping into modding for all my favourite games, lending voice to the voiceless using digital trickery. There’s even a project tovoice the entiretyof my favourite game of all time—The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind—using machine learning.

(Image credit: Bethesda)

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion

But does that mean it’s okay? No. It just makes it a different kind of bad. More than anything, of course, it’s a strange form of identity theft: twisting a real person’s voice to say things they never said and might not be comfortable saying. It’s not for no reason that Wes Johnson—the actual, for-real “Stop! You violated the law!” guy—called AI “evil,” andwrotethat “anyone trying to create a mod using an actor’s voice via AI without consent knows they are wrong.”

But as someone who grew up playing, following, and loving all kinds of mods, I have an additional, particularly selfish fear. AI voice acting risks killing one of the absolute best, most wholesome, most storied traditions of the entire moddingscene: The amateur voice actor recording their own lines into a headset microphone.

(Image credit: Off Topic Productions)

PDX agents assembled around a table in The Nameless Mod.

You wanna know one of my favourite games ever? The Nameless Mod. A sweeping overhaul of the original Deus Ex that tells an in-joke-riddled story of users on the dearly departed Planet Deus Ex forums. It’s a genuinely excellent immersive sim that takes all the lessons of the first Deus Ex and uses them to make a game that is—if I’m being honest—a better sequel than Invisible War.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Imagine replacing them all with the clipped tones of a synthesised AI voice pack. No echo, no hiss, no soul. I wouldn’t remember a single one of those characters the way I do the thoroughly BritishPhasmatis. I wouldn’t remember a single line the way I rememberRyanasking me if I had lost my fucking (the curse is important) mind. It’d all be the same awkward morass. A testament to efficiency rather than affection.

(Image credit: LucasFilm Games)

KOTOR 2 outside of ship

That’s not to be alarmist. I don’t think AI voices are going to kill the amateur voice actor stone-dead. Projects likeSkywind, for instance, are making ample use of volunteer actors to voice reams upon reams of written content. But its presence as a cheap and easy alternative will, I think, tempt more than a few modders into the dark side as the years wear on. That’s no future I want part of.

More about aiNvidia’s impressive AI-based computer tuneup tool G-Assist launches next month but the best bit is missingLogitech has announced an ‘intelligent streaming assistant’ in Streamlabs to tell you when your live stream sucksLatestSorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our faultSee more latest►

More about ai

Nvidia’s impressive AI-based computer tuneup tool G-Assist launches next month but the best bit is missingLogitech has announced an ‘intelligent streaming assistant’ in Streamlabs to tell you when your live stream sucks

Nvidia’s AI assistant named Project G-Assist

Nvidia’s impressive AI-based computer tuneup tool G-Assist launches next month but the best bit is missing

A young Asian woman opening visual aids to give her audience a better understanding while holding a podcast session.

Logitech has announced an ‘intelligent streaming assistant’ in Streamlabs to tell you when your live stream sucks

LatestSorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our faultSee more latest►

Latest

Sorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our fault

Herobrine standing in front of a foggy forest

Sorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our fault

See more latest►

Most Popular

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 6, 2025)

I’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games

6 games that could be bigger hits than you’re expecting in 2025

What are your 2025 gaming resolutions?

The FBI put a $5 million bounty on the ‘Cryptoqueen’ last year but still hasn’t found her, so take your pick: Russia, South Africa, or murdered on a yacht in 2018

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals