Longtime NPR host David Greene filed a lawsuit against Google in Santa Clara County Superior Court. The complaint alleges Google misappropriated Greene's voice for an AI feature in its NotebookLM application without authorization.
Greene claims the male voice option in the tool's audio generation feature is an unauthorized replica of his vocal characteristics. The lawsuit specifically identifies his distinct cadence and intonation as the elements being mimicked.
Google denied the allegations and stated the voice was created using a paid professional voice actor. The company maintains the feature is not based on Greene's likeness.
The litigation highlights escalating legal and ethical challenges regarding AI-generated content. The case centers on the unauthorized use of personal likenesses to train artificial intelligence models.