A lawsuit claims that Amazon MGM Studios (previously Amazon Studios) used artificial intelligence (AI) to mimic actors’ voices during the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike held between July 14 and Nov. 9, 2023. However, the production company dismissed the allegations and plans to defend its position in court.

Lance Hill, one of the original scriptwriters of the 1989 American action film Road House, sued Amazon Studios for alleged misuse of AI and copyright infringement during the movie’s upcoming remake. According to an EW report, Hill claims that Amazon began the production work for the Road House remake without licensing or waiting for the copyright to expire.

Additionally, Hill alleged that Amazon used AI when actors were unavailable during the actors’ strike to adhere to the Nov. 10, 2023 deadline. According to the lawsuit, Amazon used AI to generate fake voices for the actors featured in the Road House remake. According to an Amazon MGM Studios spokesperson:

“The lawsuit filed by R. Lance Hill regarding Road House today is completely without merit and numerous allegations are categorically false. The film does not use any AI in place of the actors’ voices. We look forward to defending ourselves against these claims.”

Another unconfirmed EW source said AI was not used to recreate the actors’ voices. While revealing the possible use of AI during early production cuts, they claimed that Amazon had advised the filmmakers to remove all AI elements from the final cut.

The upcoming Road House remake features prominent A-list celebrities, including Jake Gyllenhaal, Conor McGregor, Post Malone, Daniela Melchior and Jessica Williams. The movie is scheduled to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on March 21.

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Major tech corporations, including Google, Amazon and IBM, have taken proactive measures to maintain a lead in the nascent generative AI market .

Global Google search interest for the term “generative AI.” Source: Google Trends

As of 2023, the global generative AI market was valued at $12.1 billion; however, this figure could rise to $119.7 billion by 2032, as reported by Cointelegraph.

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