David Greene, the familiar voice of NPR's Morning Edition for over a decade, just filed a lawsuit against Google alleging the tech giant cloned his distinctive broadcasting style for its NotebookLM AI tool without permission or compensation. The case could set a major precedent for voice rights in the AI era, as synthetic media tools increasingly blur the line between human and machine-generated content. Greene's legal action lands as the industry grapples with mounting questions about whose voices - and likeness - AI companies can legally harvest.
Google is facing a high-profile legal challenge that cuts to the heart of AI ethics and intellectual property. David Greene, who spent years as the trusted morning voice for millions of NPR listeners, filed suit alleging the company's NotebookLM tool uses an AI-generated voice that sounds suspiciously like him - without ever asking permission or offering payment.
The timing couldn't be more pointed. NotebookLM, which Google launched as an AI research assistant, gained viral attention for its Audio Overview feature that converts uploaded documents into surprisingly natural-sounding podcast conversations. Users quickly noticed the male voice's professional broadcasting quality, warm delivery, and conversational cadence - traits Greene honed over more than a decade at NPR's flagship morning program.
According to sources familiar with the complaint, Greene alleges Google trained its AI models on publicly available audio, potentially including his extensive NPR archive, to create a synthetic voice that mimics his distinctive style. The lawsuit reportedly seeks damages and an injunction preventing further use of the voice in question.
Google hasn't publicly commented on the specific allegations, but the company has previously stated that its AI audio features use synthetic voices created through machine learning. The question at the lawsuit's core - can your voice be considered intellectual property when an AI learns to imitate it - remains largely untested in courts.
