Skip to Content
logologo
AI Incident Database
Open TwitterOpen RSS FeedOpen FacebookOpen LinkedInOpen GitHub
Open Menu
Discover
Submit
  • Welcome to the AIID
  • Discover Incidents
  • Spatial View
  • Table View
  • List view
  • Entities
  • Taxonomies
  • Submit Incident Reports
  • Submission Leaderboard
  • Blog
  • AI News Digest
  • Risk Checklists
  • Random Incident
  • Sign Up
Collapse
Discover
Submit
  • Welcome to the AIID
  • Discover Incidents
  • Spatial View
  • Table View
  • List view
  • Entities
  • Taxonomies
  • Submit Incident Reports
  • Submission Leaderboard
  • Blog
  • AI News Digest
  • Risk Checklists
  • Random Incident
  • Sign Up
Collapse

Incident 1081: Voice Actor Alleges Unconsented Use of AI-Generated Voice on ScotRail Trains

Description: Scottish voice actor Gayanne Potter alleges her voice was used without proper consent in ScotRail's AI train announcements. She claims she had agreed to limited use of her voice data by ReadSpeaker but was not informed it would be used in a synthetic voice system called "Iona." ScotRail continues to use the voice, stating the dispute is between Potter and ReadSpeaker.
Editor Notes: The timeline of this incident is partially reconstructed from public statements and media reporting. The original voice recording agreement reportedly took place in 2021; the disputed use of the synthetic voice began in July 2024 with deployment on ScotRail trains. The voice actor publicly raised concerns in May 2025, stating she had been in private dispute with ReadSpeaker for over two years. Precise contractual and deployment dates remain unclear.

Tools

New ReportNew ReportNew ResponseNew ResponseDiscoverDiscoverView HistoryView History
The OECD AI Incidents and Hazards Monitor (AIM) automatically collects and classifies AI-related incidents and hazards in real time from reputable news sources worldwide.
 

Entities

View all entities
Alleged: ReadSpeaker developed an AI system deployed by ScotRail, which harmed Gayanne Potter , Voiceover artists and Individuals affected by unauthorized biometric data use.
Alleged implicated AI systems: Iona , Text-to-speech deployment in public transport , ScotRail train announcement system , Biometric voice modeling and AI-generated likeness in commercial use

Incident Stats

Incident ID
1081
Report Count
6
Incident Date
2025-05-27
Editors
Daniel Atherton
Applied Taxonomies
MIT

MIT Taxonomy Classifications

Machine-Classified
Taxonomy Details

Risk Subdomain

A further 23 subdomains create an accessible and understandable classification of hazards and harms associated with AI
 

2.1. Compromise of privacy by obtaining, leaking or correctly inferring sensitive information

Risk Domain

The Domain Taxonomy of AI Risks classifies risks into seven AI risk domains: (1) Discrimination & toxicity, (2) Privacy & security, (3) Misinformation, (4) Malicious actors & misuse, (5) Human-computer interaction, (6) Socioeconomic & environmental harms, and (7) AI system safety, failures & limitations.
 
  1. Privacy & Security

Entity

Which, if any, entity is presented as the main cause of the risk
 

Human

Timing

The stage in the AI lifecycle at which the risk is presented as occurring
 

Post-deployment

Intent

Whether the risk is presented as occurring as an expected or unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
 

Intentional

Incident Reports

Reports Timeline

+5
'Violated': Voiceover artist demands ScotRail removes her voice from new AI announcements
ScotRail has new AI announcer after 'stolen voice' row
Loading...
'Violated': Voiceover artist demands ScotRail removes her voice from new AI announcements

'Violated': Voiceover artist demands ScotRail removes her voice from new AI announcements

scotsman.com

Loading...
'Stop using my voice' - New train announcer is my AI clone

'Stop using my voice' - New train announcer is my AI clone

bbc.com

Loading...
Voiceover artist Gayanne Potter urging ScotRail to remove her voice from new AI announcements

Voiceover artist Gayanne Potter urging ScotRail to remove her voice from new AI announcements

news.sky.com

Loading...
Actress says ScotRail’s new AI announcer uses her voice data without permission

Actress says ScotRail’s new AI announcer uses her voice data without permission

msn.com

Loading...
Voiceover artist claims her voice is being used on ScotRail’s AI-generated announcements without permission

Voiceover artist claims her voice is being used on ScotRail’s AI-generated announcements without permission

independent.co.uk

Loading...
ScotRail has new AI announcer after 'stolen voice' row

ScotRail has new AI announcer after 'stolen voice' row

bbc.com

Loading...
'Violated': Voiceover artist demands ScotRail removes her voice from new AI announcements
scotsman.com · 2025

Scottish voiceover artist has called for ScotRail to remove her voice from its new AI train announcements system because she never agreed to its use.

Gayanne Potter, whose work also includes the "Voice of God" introductions to ITV News, sai…

Loading...
'Stop using my voice' - New train announcer is my AI clone
bbc.com · 2025

A woman who believes her voice has been used to create ScotRail's new AI-generated announcement system is calling for it to be removed from trains.

ScotRail recently introduced a synthetic Scottish voice to make onboard announcements in pla…

Loading...
Voiceover artist Gayanne Potter urging ScotRail to remove her voice from new AI announcements
news.sky.com · 2025

Gayanne Potter is one of Britain's most recognisable voices - behind adverts for the likes of Estee Lauder, Apple, LBC radio, and B&Q.

Now, an artificial intelligence (AI) version of her voice is being used on Scotland's nationalised train …

Loading...
Actress says ScotRail’s new AI announcer uses her voice data without permission
msn.com · 2025

A voiceover artist says her voice data is being used for ScotRail's new AI train announcer without her permission, saying she feels "violated" and does not have control.

The government-owned train operator recently rolled out "Iona", an AI …

Loading...
Voiceover artist claims her voice is being used on ScotRail’s AI-generated announcements without permission
independent.co.uk · 2025

A voiceover artist is claiming her voice is being used for ScotRail's AI-generated announcements without her permission, and says she feels 'violated' by the experience.

Gayanne Potter, whose voice is ITN's 'Voice of God' and the Female Sta…

Loading...
ScotRail has new AI announcer after 'stolen voice' row
bbc.com · 2025

ScotRail has launched a new AI onboard announcer using the voice of an employee following a row over a previous version.

Voiceover artist Gayanne Potter had complained that her voice was used without permission to help train the artificial …

Variants

A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.
Seen something similar?
Previous IncidentNext Incident

Research

  • Defining an “AI Incident”
  • Defining an “AI Incident Response”
  • Database Roadmap
  • Related Work
  • Download Complete Database

Project and Community

  • About
  • Contact and Follow
  • Apps and Summaries
  • Editor’s Guide

Incidents

  • All Incidents in List Form
  • Flagged Incidents
  • Submission Queue
  • Classifications View
  • Taxonomies

2024 - AI Incident Database

  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Open twitterOpen githubOpen rssOpen facebookOpen linkedin
  • f5f2449