MKBHD calls out “scummy” company using AI copy of his voice for ads

Marques ‘MKBHD’ Brownlee has called out a “scummy” company using an AI copy of his voice for ads across social media.

Since the rise of generative AI in 2022, an increasing amount of companies are using the tech to create videos, songs, and more.

AI-powered voice generators are often used across social media, often copying a popular influencer or celebrity. One prime example of this is the late comedian Robin Williams, whose daughter hit out against the technology after a video of his voice went viral postmortem.

On October 14, 2024, Tech YouTuber Marques ‘MKBHD’ Brownlee hit out at a “scummy” and “shady” company on Instagram for using an AI copy of his voice.

“It’s happening. There are real companies who will just use an AI-created rip of my voice to promote their stuff,” he said in a post on X.

“There’s really no repercussions for it other than being known as this scummy shady company that is willing to stoop that low to sell some product.”

While not all social media platforms have created ways to report AI-generated voice copies, YouTube announced new rules back in July that do just that.

“If someone has used AI to alter or create synthetic content that looks or sounds like you, you can ask for it to be removed,” reads the policy. “In order to qualify for removal, the content should depict a realistic altered or synthetic version of your likeness.”

This isn’t the first time MKBHD has hit out against another company using his likeness for its AI product without permission.

Back in February, Brownlee discovered an AI-powered chatbot claiming to let users “chat with a YouTuber” that used the name and photo of himself, Cody Ko, FaZe Rug, and more.

“There’s a random AI company parading around an AI chatbot to ‘chat with a YouTuber’ and it’s so incredibly bad. Just spews lies. They also never got permission to use my likeness, and I suspect several others on this list were never even asked. Avoid this TRASH,” he said.