Bill Kurtis voice deepfake — Nov 2026

Television journalist and narrator Bill Kurtis, known for a 60-year career in news and true crime broadcasting, recently discovered that his voice has been replicated by artificial intelligence without his knowledge or permission. The issue came to light after a viewer contacted him regarding a cable program, questioning whether the voiceover was an AI-generated imitation of his own. Upon investigating, Kurtis identified more than 200 instances of unauthorized voice-over examples using his voiceprint.

What happened

Following the initial inquiry, Kurtis confirmed that he had never been contacted by the entities using his voice, nor had he provided consent for the creation or distribution of these digital replicas. The unauthorized use of his voice has prompted legal action, with Chicago-based attorney Ross Kimbarovsky filing 13 proposed class-action lawsuits against several major technology companies, including Google, Amazon, Meta, Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, and ElevenLabs. These lawsuits allege that the companies are engaged in the illegal and unethical exploitation of talent on a massive scale, characterizing the unauthorized use of biometric data as a significant violation of privacy. The legal challenges are based on Illinois laws that prohibit the creation and distribution of digital replicas of an individual's voice or likeness without permission, as well as the use of audio to train AI models without notice. Kurtis argues that the proliferation of free, synthetic versions of his voice threatens the value of his professional work and risks damaging the journalistic reputation he has built over six decades.