Genna Bain is the widow of the YouTuber TotalBiscuit. She shared on Twitter that she is currently considering deleting all of her husband’s videos. This is because they are being used to train voice AIs that spread political views in his voice.
Who is this about? John Peter Bain, known as TotalBiscuit, was a YouTuber famous for his video series “WTF is …?” In it, he reviewed various games – from small indie games to large titles like League of Legends or Guild Wars 2. He was also the host of the Co-Optional Podcast, ran a well-known WoW radio station from 2005 to 2010, and was a shoutcaster for StarCraft 2.
On his channel, he published over 3,300 videos that were viewed more than 900 million times. He was also active on Twitch, where his face still adorns the “LUL” emote. He was seen as an advocate for honesty and transparency and did not shy away from confrontation.
On May 24, 2018, he passed away from cancer. His life’s work was honored by various games with Easter eggs, such as a gravestone with a top hat, and he was inducted as the only non-professional into the ESL Esports Hall of Fame.
What has happened now? It appears that TotalBiscuit’s YouTube content is being used to train voice AIs. Therefore, Genna Bain is considering deleting all videos and thus the legacy of her deceased husband from the internet. She writes:
Today was fun. To be faced with the choice of deleting all content from my deceased husband’s life from the internet. Apparently, people find it acceptable to use his library to train voice AIs that spread their social comments and political views.
Fans are upset but hope that the videos will remain
How are the fans reacting? Under the tweet, many fans are gathering, appalled that someone is using the YouTuber’s voice for such purposes. They find it disrespectful and offer their condolences to Genna Bain.
However, many also hope that she does not have to take the radical step of deleting the videos. TotalBiscuit has touched many people’s lives and helped them. One user speaks up who is also suffering from cancer:
His interview on the h3 podcast prompted me to react quickly to my symptoms of rectal cancer – and that’s why I was diagnosed early (stage 1) and responded very well to treatment. His online legacy thus still has positive effects. So, thanks TB/GB.
Other users also emphasize how much John Bain influenced the gaming world and themselves.
Where is such a voice AI already being used? We have already reported that with the help of an AI, the voices of Angela Merkel and Karl Lauterbach are used to create gaming videos. These are very entertaining, but it is obvious that the real politicians are not playing here.
However, the imitated voices can also become a problem, especially when they are not used for fun gaming videos but for political purposes. Some fraudsters are also using them to execute the “grandchild trick”. In this case, the voice of the grandchild is simulated during a call, asking their grandmother for money.
It is therefore understandable that Genna Bain does not agree to her husband’s voice being used in this way.
