The Japanese government will establish a council of experts to discuss whether the unauthorized use of sound data in artificial intelligence-generated content emulating voice actors violates the Civil Code, amid the rapid advance of generative AI technology, it said Friday.
The Justice Ministry panel will discuss the issue, along with the use of images of actual actors, until July before presenting guidelines, as there is currently no legal precedent.
According to the ministry, using the voices and images of individuals without their consent could potentially violate publicity and portrait rights, but whether voices can be included within the scope of portraits remains legally vague.
The panel of experts will analyze potential scenarios while referring to rulings, including one that determined the unauthorized use of portraits constitutes a violation.
The panel is likely to examine cases such as generating sound data that emulates a voice actor reading a story with sexual content and uploading it to social media.
The experts are also expected to deliberate on issues involving images of actors, such as the brief appearance of an AI-generated figure in a movie that resembles a real-life actor.
The panel is also expected to discuss who can seek compensation when a victim of such AI-generated content has already died, according to the ministry.
© KYODO
