Fraudsters used the voice of actor Benedict Cumberbatch, created by artificial intelligence (AI), to deceive a film company Peabody Films. This was reported by the Daily Mail.
The film company received a call from an individual who claimed to be a star of “The Avengers,” and the caller’s voice was identical to that of the actor.
The company engaged in several discussions with a remarkable voice ‘clone’ resembling “Cumberbatch.” However, Bob Williams, the screenwriter, and director of Peabody Films, became wary when they encountered peculiar demand: ‘Cumberbatch’ insisted on a pre-meeting registration fee of £200,000, which raised suspicion.
“The AI-generated voice of Cumberbatch was a perfect match, 100 percent his voice,” said Williams.
When “Cumberbatch” and his agent declined a personal meeting, representatives of the film company realized they had narrowly escaped becoming victims of fraud, which helped them avoid financial loss.
“We were shocked and disappointed to learn that we fell victim to an AI posing as a famous actor,” Bob William concluded.
Earlier, Benedict Cumberbatch lost the title of the sexiest redhead man to Prince Harry.
Most Britons consider Prince Harry to be the sexiest red-haired man alive, according to the Daily Star citing the results of a sociological survey conducted in November 2022.
The 38-year-old Duke of Sussex earned this title by garnering 19 percent of the votes. This is five percent more than Ewan McGregor, the star of the series “Obi-Wan Kenobi” and the movie “Trainspotting,” who came in second place, and ten percent more than actor Eddie Redmayne.
Actors Michael Fassbender and Benedict Cumberbatch also fell short compared to Prince Harry, receiving less than ten percent of the votes.
The survey involved 2000 people.