During the recent National Day holiday, a large number of videos featuring AI voiceovers of Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi Technology, surfaced on short video platforms. These videos not only featured sharp comments but also contained profanity. Netizens joked that they had been scolded by Lei Jun for a whole 7 days during the holiday. However, these statements were not made by Lei Jun himself. Currently, the related short videos have been gradually taken down by the platforms.
The videos were labeled with tags like “Lei Jun AI voiceover” or “Lei Jun AI voice.” In these videos, “Lei Jun” critically commented on topics such as traffic jams, holidays, vacations, and games. Due to Lei Jun deliberately adding pauses in his speeches for clarity, the AI voice imitating him sounded remarkably realistic, leading many netizens to comment that “they thought it was him in the first half.”
The related videos sparked heated discussions online, with the video views quickly surpassing one billion.
Some netizens expressed their surprise, stating, “Some of the lines are quite funny.” However, others remarked, “Jokes should have limits” and “Do not go too far.” Many netizens also went to Lei Jun’s Weibo comment section to inquire about this matter.
On the 7th, in response to netizens’ questions like “Lei, why have you been scolding people recently?”, Lei Jun posted three angry emojis to express his anger.
On the 9th, a netizen left a comment in the public relations manager Wang Hua’s comment section at Xiaomi Group, saying, “Please address the issue of Lei Jun’s AI voice scolding people.” In response, Wang Hua replied, “I have forwarded it to them (Xiaomi legal department).” Currently, the related short videos have been gradually taken down by the platform.
Currently, various AI voice imitation and parody videos are emerging endlessly. According to the “2024 Artificial Intelligence Security Report,” fraudulent activities based on AI deepfakes in China increased by 3000% in 2023. In just the first half of this year, the value of AI fraud cases has exceeded 185 million yuan.
According to a report by People’s Daily, a voice actor named Yin found that his voice had been turned into AI. He sued a technology company at Beijing Internet Court, demanding cessation of infringement, an apology, and compensation for economic and mental losses. The technology company was ordered to pay 250,000 RMB to the plaintiff.
The court ruled that the voice, as a form of personality right, possesses personal exclusivity and is protected by law. Any natural person’s voice is protected by law, and authorization for audio recording products does not imply authorization for AI conversion of the voice. Unauthorized AI conversion of recorded voices without the consent of the right holder constitutes infringement.