Sandra Sully’s AI clone surprise: “I didn’t record that voice but it sounded just like me”

“We’re always banging on about the importance of trusted news sources and services … this is a reminder you really can’t always believe everything you see, hear or read.”

That was TV news legend Sandra Sully’s response after she heard a voice – identical to hers – reading a headline on a true crime podcast.

Except … Sully herself never voiced the headline.

It was the work of Artificial Intelligence.

Whilst the podcast creators do state up front that Sully’s voice is a replica, she hadn’t given it the green light.

“I didn’t record that voice but gosh when I heard it, I knew it sounded just like me,” Sully told Network 10’s The Project last night.

“I ran it by a couple of my colleagues and they said ‘Gosh, it sounds just like you.'”

Sully told the program that while she didn’t feel violated by the use of the AI-generated voice, the incident did leave her feeling alarmed.

She says it serves as a warning.

“If I’m arguably some trusted voice in news then how can that be manipulated and for what purposes – good, bad or evil?”

“That’s pretty scary.”