Witcher 3 quest mod featuring AI-generated voice lines leaves voice actors concerned

A Witcher 3 quest mod featuring AI-generated new voice lines has sparked conversation in the video games industry. The mod, A Night to Remember by nikich340, introduces a new standalone quest that continues Orianna's story after the events of Blood & Wine expansion of The Witcher 3.

The mod author used CyberVoice to create new dialog and voice lines for the protagonist Geralt of Rivia, who was voiced by Doug Cockle in The Witcher 3. CyberVoice is made by the Russia-based Mind Simulation Lab, which has also developed CyberMind. CyberMind utilizes Artificial Intelligence (AI) to construct digital personalities for in-game NPCs.

Quest mods for The Witcher 3 are few and far between. So, A Night to Remember quickly became a favorite for the Witcher 3 fans who got a new quest to play, featuring a completely new adventure. It packs new writing, cutscenes, voice acting, assets, a special reward and some difficult decisions.

Voice actors are concerned about potential misuse following the Witcher 3 mod using AI to simulate Doug Cockle’s lines

When Inputmag contacted the Mind Simulation Lab, the CEO of the company, Leonid Derikyants, explained why such technology is needed in gaming:

“We create digital versions of [actors’] voices so that live NPCs can answer questions from players, outside of story missions, with the same voice. And since they form their answers independently and remember new facts, it’s impossible to voice it all in advance. It would be strange if, in that case, they spoke with a different voice. That is why we need the advanced technology of voice parodying.”

While this goes to show the immense potential for the use of AI in game development, it also causes concern for different reasons. In the Witcher 3 mod in question, Geralt’s voice was created through the use of free audio tracks meshed with another voice. The quality of voice lines in the mod is so great that it is nigh impossible to make out that it is not voiced by the real voice actor.

Now this obviously brings up a plethora of concerns. The most important of them is likely the usage of AI generated voice lines to express something which the original voice actor does not approve of. For example, one can create voice lines with, say, racist or misogynist content using AI on some real voice actor’s original work, which is definitely detestable.

Jay Britton, voice actor in Divinity: Original Sin 2 and Pathfinder: Kingmaker, also brought up the issue of whether video games retain the artistic nature without actual human involvement.

If this is true, this is just heartbreaking. Yes, AI might be able to replace things but should it? We literally get to decide.Replacing actors with AI is not only a legal minefield but an utterly souless choice.Why not remove all human creativity from games and use AI... https://t.co/aYLiBe9iqn

— Jay Britton (@JayBritton) April 12, 2021

There is, of course, an underlying concern for AI taking away human jobs, brought to light by the Witcher 3 mod controversy. What if the game industry gradually starts utilizing AI for voice acting instead of employing real humans to do the job? Only time will tell what lies on the horizon.