Skyrim’s Scandalous Symphony: When AI Meets Adult Modding – A Puzzling Predicament

Ladies and gentlemen, gamers and geeks, brace yourselves for a tale that’s as bizarre as it is bewildering! The land of Skyrim, famous for dragons, epic quests, and shouting “Fus Ro Dah” at your TV screen, is facing a conundrum of colossal proportions. You might want to grab a sweet roll and sit down for this one, because Skyrim’s modding scene is taking a turn into the twilight zone.

We all know that the modding community in Skyrim has always been as active as a caffeinated Dovahkiin on skooma, tirelessly extending the life of Bethesda’s iconic game. But now, it seems the modding landscape is caught in a maelstrom of madness. Why, you ask? Well, because AI-generated voice clips from real Skyrim voice actors have been added to mods. And, brace yourselves, some of these mods are not suitable for all audiences, if you catch my drift.

It all began when GamesRadar dropped the bombshell, pointing its finger at Nexus Mods, a platform that hosts a slew of these eyebrow-raising Skyrim mods. When IGN tried to get the scoop, Nexus Mods responded with a shrug, essentially saying, “AI-generated mod content is cool until someone complains.” Classic case of “ask for forgiveness, not permission,” right?

Then, enter Twitter user @Robbie92_, who blew the lid off the practice of AI voice cloning in Skyrim modding. Robbie even tagged the unsuspecting voice actors whose dulcet tones were the unwitting stars of these saucy mods. Talk about a shout heard ’round Tamriel!

The responses to Robbie’s Twitter revelation read like an epic in their own right. Voice actors, having discovered their voices had been used for, ahem, explicit content, voiced their shock and indignation. Richard Epcar’s eloquent “What the s**t?!” sums up the general sentiment nicely.

But Robbie didn’t stop there; they shared a Google Doc filled with a treasure trove of mod links, some more scandalous than others. But here’s the kicker, folks – these links are tagged NSFW, so you need an active Nexus Mods account to access them. Clever, right?

Now, don’t get too excited! Many of these mods have been hidden by their creators, citing “possible permission issues.” Digging deeper into the fine print of ElevenLabs’ terms of service, we discover the cold, hard truth. Using the voice generator for NSFW Skyrim mods? Not exactly the “Thu’um” of ethical behavior.

ElevenLabs is about to find itself in the hot seat as IGN reaches out for a comment. You can almost hear the “Fus Ro D’oh” from here.

But what about the unwitting stars of these mods? When AI-generated lines are snatched from real voice actors, the repercussions are as alarming as a dragon attack. IGN sat down with Abbey Veffer and Kyle McCarley, two Elder Scrolls Online voice actors who had plenty to say on the matter.

Abbey, who lent her vocal talents to ESO’s Necrom expansion, doesn’t mince words. She likens this AI voice cloning to revenge porn, a violation that’s no laughing matter. The creators may be fans, but that doesn’t make it right. As she points out, voice actors aren’t rolling in septims, and job stability in the industry is as stable as a mudcrab on a caffeine binge.

Kyle McCarley is equally concerned and, dare we say, horrified by the unchecked technology. He stresses the potential harm to voice actors’ careers and public image, citing the fact that they don’t own the rights to the characters they portray. It’s like someone’s been Fus Ro Dah’d straight into their professional livelihoods.

So, what’s the solution? Both Abbey and Kyle agree; legislation is the name of the game. Without rules and oversight, these AI deepfakes could run rampant like a horde of ravenous skeevers. They’re looking to Hollywood and SAG-AFTRA for guidance, as negotiations unfold to protect actors from AI misuse.

So there you have it, folks, Skyrim’s modding scene is taking a walk on the wild side, and the voice actors are caught in the crossfire. Will the power of legislation prevail, or will AI-generated shenanigans continue to be the order of the day? Only time will tell, so stay tuned for the next episode of “Fus Ro Drama”!