Associated Incidents
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, said she felt "violated" because her voice had been used for a different purpose to what she had agreed with the Swedish company that provided the system.
A synthetic version of Ms Potter's voice, known as Iona, has been used on some ScotRail trains since July last year, replacing its pre-recorded human voice announcements.
The Scottish Government-owned operator said the move was to "make announcements more modern and reflective of the routes the train serves".
'Nobody told me'
Edinburgh-born Ms Potter, who is based in Midlothian, said she was in dispute with ReadSpeaker, which had supplied Iona, and called for ScotRail to revert to a human voice.
ScotRail said the dispute was between her and ReadSpeaker and it had "no plans" to remove the voice.
Writing on her Facebook page, Ms Potter said: "I discovered last week that ScotRail's new horrible AI train announcer Iona is in fact using my voice data - and nobody told me.
"I have been in dispute with a company in Sweden, ReadSpeaker, for over two years to get my voice data removed from their website."
Ms Potter said in 2021 she had understood that her voice would be used by the firm "to provide text to speech recordings to be used for translation purposes from foreign language copy pasted into their site, and as an accessibility tool for people with visual impairment".
Two years later, she discovered it was also being used for Iona, along with an AI-generated image of a red-haired woman, which was marketed by ReadSpeaker "for much wider purposes".
Ms Potter said the company refused to stop using her voice, despite offering to repay her fee, and she was now pursuing the case through lawyers.
She said: "I will not let this rest. So imagine my distress when I discover that ScotRail have installed the ReadSpeaker model Iona that contains my biometric voice data as their new announcer on their trains.
"I did not know. I was not asked. I did not consent. I was not given a choice.
"Four years ago, we didn't have the AI we use now. You cannot consent to something that doesn't exist. You should be able to withdraw your consent at any point. Readspeaker won't let me.
'Why choose a dreadful AI version of me'
"It's not about money. It's about my identity. I feel violated.
"ScotRail should employ a real human irrespective of who it is. Why continue to choose a dreadful AI version of me when I'm right here - and I know how to pronounce Milngavie?"
ScotRail said Iona had been used for supplementary announcements on its Class 156 diesel trains, which operate on routes including north of Inverness, and High Speed Trains - inter-city services - over the past ten months.
The system has also been used on its class 380 trains, whose routes include in Ayrshire and Inverclyde, for the last two weeks.
Its spokesperson said: "It would be a matter for Ms Potter to take up with ReadSpeaker, who her contract is with. We have no plans to remove the voice from our trains."
ReadSpeaker chief marketing officer Roy Lindemann said: "We are aware of Ms Potter's concerns. ReadSpeaker and Ms Potter have a contract regarding the use of her voice.
"ReadSpeaker has comprehensively addressed Ms Potter's concerns with her legal representative several times in the past."