A lawsuit filed in California accuses Google of using the voice of veteran NPR journalist David Greene without permission in its AI-powered podcasting tool, NotebookLM. Greene, known for his years hosting NPR’s “Morning Edition” and “Up First,” and currently hosting KCRW’s “Left, Right & Center,” alleges that the male voice option within NotebookLM is a near-identical replica of his own.
The suit, filed January 23 in Santa Clara County, California, claims that Greene first became aware of the alleged voice cloning in the fall of 2024 when a former colleague emailed him, questioning whether he had licensed his voice to Google. The email read, “So … I’m probably the 148th person to ask this, but did you license your voice to Google? It sounds very much like you!” Soon after, Greene’s inbox was reportedly inundated with similar inquiries from friends, family, and colleagues.
“I was, like, completely freaked out,” Greene told the Washington Post. “It’s this eerie moment where you sense like you’re listening to yourself.” He described the experience as “weird,” but emphasized he is “not some crazy anti-AI activist.”
Google denies the allegations. In a statement provided to the Washington Post, Google spokesperson José Castañeda said, “These allegations are baseless. The sound of the male voice in NotebookLM’s Audio Overviews is based on a paid professional actor Google hired.”
Greene contends that the AI-generated voice replicates not only the tone and cadence of his voice but also his characteristic speech patterns, including the leverage of filler words like “uh” and “likes.” He told the Washington Post, “My voice is, like, the most important part of who I am,” and recounted his wife’s surprised reaction upon hearing the AI-generated podcast.
The lawsuit includes an analysis from an unnamed AI forensic firm, which reportedly assessed the audio from NotebookLM and determined a 53% to 60% probability that Greene’s voice was used in the AI’s training. The suit characterizes this as a “relatively high” confidence rating.
This case arrives as legal challenges surrounding the use of artificial intelligence and intellectual property rights are increasing. In a separate case last year, actress Scarlett Johansson threatened legal action against OpenAI after a newly released ChatGPT voice, dubbed “Sky,” closely resembled her own. OpenAI subsequently removed the voice from the platform. Similarly, social media platform X faced criticism and temporarily removed search terms related to Taylor Swift after AI-generated sexually explicit images of the singer circulated widely on the platform.
Joshua Michelangelo Stein, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, is representing Greene. Stein is also currently litigating a copyright lawsuit against Meta on behalf of authors including comedian Sarah Silverman and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates, alleging unauthorized use of their copyrighted works to train AI models. Stein told the Washington Post, “We have faith in the court and encourage people to listen to the example audio themselves.” He did not immediately respond to a request for further comment from The Post.
