Japan’s Ministry of Justice has prepared a draft report seeking to protect the voices of famous people, alongside their portraits, from unauthorised use involving generative artificial intelligence.
The document was presented to an expert committee on Monday (July 13).
After considering feedback from its members, the ministry plans to release the final report as early as August.
The initiative addresses an area of Japanese law that remains unsettled.
No court in the country has ruled on the rights involved in the misuse of a person’s voice, leaving uncertainty over when such conduct may be considered unlawful.
One scenario examined in the draft involves generative AI being used to produce audio that could lead listeners to believe a voice actor was reading obscene material.