The Chinese Voice Actor Forced to Prove He's Human
A Chinese voice actor is struggling to prove his humanity after AI-generated clones of his voice began appearing in unauthorized content. The proliferation of these deepfakes has caused him professional harm and forced him to spend significant time fighting copyright infringement.
Why it matters
This highlights the growing real-world economic and personal consequences of unregulated AI voice cloning for creative professionals.
JIANGSU, East China — “Hello, sir or madam. I’m not AI — I’m a real voice actor. Now let me show you a tongue twister …”
Pausing for breath, Shen Anyu continues in a deep, resonant voice: “Ba bai biao bing ben bei po ...” He finishes and lets out a rueful smile. “How ridiculous this is.”
For the fifth time in the past year, Shen was recording a video to prove he was human.
Since 2025, AI copies of Shen’s voice have spread so widely online that platforms have begun flagging his real recordings as synthetic. For his clients, a mistaken label can mean fewer recommendations, fewer views, and less income.
The 31-year-old hears what sounds like his voice narrating movie explainers he never recorded, reading sports news, promoting products, peddling conspiracy theories, and even swearing in short videos circulating online.
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