This year, several new AI voice cloning technologies have been deemed unsafe for public use due to concerns about potential misuse. From fraudulent scams to deep fakes of prominent figures, it’s clear that more needs to be done to protect and educate users on the rapidly developing AI voice cloning industry.
Podcastle conducted a study to determine which celebrity voices are most easily replicable and why, with the aim of uncovering the celebrities who may be most at risk of AI voice cloning misuse.
Arto Yeritsyan, CEO and founder of Podcastle, comments:
“At Podcastle, our primary goal is to champion the use of AI voice technology to enhance user creativity safely and responsibly. We’re committed to creating powerful AI-driven tools that boost productivity and maintain the safety of all our users.
“By balancing innovation with responsibility, we aim to create a platform where you can confidently explore the benefits of AI and find the tools to support you on your creative journey.”
Key findings:
– Arnold Schwarzenegger is most at risk of AI voice cloning with the most straightforward voice to replicate
– This is down to his distinctive and instantly recognizable accent, according to 86% of Americans
– Arnold is followed by Donald Trump, Kim Kardashian, Sylvester Stallone, and Christopher Walken
– Gen Z disagrees with the general public - they say Donald Trump is the most at risk
– Morgan Freeman is the celebrity we want as both our phone voice assistant (24%) and as the next celebrity podcast host (11%)
– Americans say Freeman is the top choice as he’s a great storyteller who will keep listeners engaged (41%)
Americans say Arnold Schwarzenegger is most at risk of AI voice cloning misuse
The study revealed that Arnold Schwarzenegger is the celebrity most at risk of AI voice cloning. Almost nine in ten Americans (86%) reported that Arnie’s voice is easy to replicate thanks to his instantly recognizable and distinctive accent.
Check out the top 10 celebrities most at risk of AI voice cloning misuse below:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger (29%)
- Donald Trump (15%)
- Kim Kardashian (8%)
- Sylvester Stallone (7%)
- Christopher Walken (7%)
- Matthew McConaughey (4%)
- Morgan Freeman (4%)
- Taylor Swift (4%)
- Mike Tyson (3%)
- Denzel Washington (3%)
Following Arnold Schwarzenegger, Americans believe Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian are the two celebrities most at risk of AI voice cloning misuse. Nearly two in five (39%) said Donald Trump’s voice is easy to replicate thanks to its familiarity due to his frequent media appearances, followed by his voice mannerisms being easy to replicate (28%).
Over a third (36%) of survey respondents agree that Kim Kardashian’s voice is effortless to replicate because her vocal mannerisms are easy to reproduce. Almost one in four (23%) reported that Kim K has a consistent tone and pitch, which makes her voice easy to replicate.
Gen Z says Donald Trump’s voice is the easiest to replicate - the other generations don’t agree
We asked each generation which celebrity voice they thought was the easiest to replicate and, therefore, most at risk of AI voice cloning misuse, and Gen Zers were the outliers.
Here are the top 3 celebrities most at risk of AI voice cloning misuse, according to each generation:
Percentages in bold indicate the top celebrity for each generation
One in three Gen Zers (30%) said Donald Trump is the celebrity voice most at risk of AI voice cloning misuse. However, Millennials (28%), Gen X (34%), and Baby Boomers (34%) say Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Celebrities most at risk of AI voice cloning misuse in each state
In the study, we also collected data on the celebrities most at risk of AI voice cloning misuse in each state, and almost two-thirds of the country (61%) agreed that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s voice is the easiest to replicate.
A large majority of the East Coast, West Coast, and Midwest opted for Arnie, who was followed by Donald Trump. 18% of the country selected him as the celebrity most at risk of AI voice cloning misuse.
See which celebrity’s voice each state said was the easiest to replicate on the map below:
Aside from the top two celebrity voices most at risk of AI voice cloning misuse, some key outliers were identified. A third of Iowans (33%) agreed that Kourtney Kardashian’s voice is at risk due to its replicability. However, according to over one in six (17%) Louisians, Taylor Swift's voice is the easiest to replicate.
Morgan Freeman! We want you as the next celebrity podcast host (and as our phone assistant)
In addition to insights on the celebrity voices most at risk of AI voice cloning misuse due to their replicability, we uncovered the celebrity voices we want to have as our phone assistant and as the next celebrity podcast host.
Despite Arnold Schwarzenegger and Donald Trump dominating the AI voice cloning misuse findings, Morgan Freeman came out on top as both our most preferred phone assistant and as the next celeb podcast host.
Almost a quarter (24%) of Americans said yes to Freeman as their phone voice assistant; over one in ten (11%) want to hear him as the next A-list podcast host.
According to over two-fifths (41%) of respondents, the top reason we want Morgan Freeman to be a podcast host is that he’s a great storyteller who would keep listeners engaged. His top-notch storytelling skills are followed by his voice being pleasant and easy to listen to (32%) and being a pillar of admiration—over one in five (21%) Americans simply want to hear more about his fascinating life.
This time, the generations don’t agree on the celebrity they want to have as the next podcast host. Find out the top celebrity and the top reason why each generation chose this celebrity below:
According to respondents, the top three most important voice preferences for a celebrity podcast host are the host being known for their humorous personality (25%), admiration for them and interest in their life (24%), and being known for their storytelling ability (24%).
Create your AI voice clone with Podcastle
Want to create your own voice clone to unleash your creativity? You can do it with Podcastle, and be assured that our process prioritizes your data security and privacy. Your voice samples and personal information are kept confidential throughout the voice cloning process.
Head to the AI Voice Cloning page to get started. Once your voice clone has been created, you can start with text-to-speech audio generation to save hours of production time! The opportunities are endless, whether you're recording a podcast with your AI voices, narrating an audiobook, or even developing captivating game characters.
Eager to know more? Check out our full suite of AI-powered tools and learn more about Podcastle’s AI voice generator.
Methodology
Podcastle surveyed a representative sample of 1,000 US general population respondents to understand which celebrity voices they believe are the easiest to replicate to suggest which celebrities are most at risk of AI voice cloning misuse. The survey also uncovered our preferences on the celebrity we would most like to have as a podcast host and the celebrity voice we want as a phone voice assistant. Text analysis was used to summarize open-text questions and provide a ranked overview of the most common themes or threads.
Questions were multiple-choice, with the option to provide qualitative data where needed. To find key statistics, respondents were split by multiple demographics, including generation and the state they reside in.
The data is based on self-reported answers, meaning respondents may have had biases or discrepancies between their reported abilities and actual abilities. Survey data has certain limitations related to self-reporting.
The celebrities chosen for the survey were selected based on their combined search volume across Google and TikTok for ‘[celebrity name] + impression’. The list of celebrities was manually checked to ensure search intent was for impressions of the celebrity, rather than impressions done by the celebrity.
Fair Use Statement
Now that you have an overview of the celebrities deemed to be most at risk of AI voice cloning misuse, the celebrity we want as the next A-list podcast host, and the celebrity voice we want as our phone voice assistant, feel free to share this data.
We ask that you do so for non-commercial use and provide a link to this original study page so the researchers are credited correctly.
