The first time Tom Burt heard his voice cloned, he felt sheer rage at it being used without his knowledge and without paying him.
Mr Burt is a Sydney-based voice artist, perhaps best known for vocalising an animated version of Healthy Harold, a giraffe who has been visiting schools for more than 45 years to promote the health and safety of children.
He enjoys his job but fears it is under threat from artificial intelligence.
His career changed 18 months ago when his voice was replicated by AI and used online.
Mr Burt spoke about the scarring experience during a public hearing into AI in the workplace.
"It shattered me, this was something that was taken from me," he said on Friday.
"You don't need to pay a machine."
He warned that without guardrails to ensure artists can give consent and receive compensation, the voiceover industry would be the first to fall to AI.
Mr Burt joined delegates from the union representing actors, journalists and writers at the digital transformation inquiry.
The committee is examining the development and uptake of automated decision making and machine-learning techniques.
The union's Matt Byrne said a survey of members found 72 per cent were extremely concerned about the theft of intellectual property through AI.
They want to see creative and media workers offered legal protection, believing transparency would force companies to come clean about how they use artists' work and AI.
"Do we sell our Australian art, our ability to tell stories, sing songs, make art that expresses our unique culture?" Mr Byrne said.
The alternative would be to accept company profits were the priority, he said.
The committee also heard from Grainne Brunsdon, the chief operating office at Screen Australia.
She raised concerns about the need for compensation and consent when artists' work was used with AI.
Ms Brunsdon also worried about Indigenous data sovereignty.
Any legislation targeting AI needed to be flexible to protect creators but also embrace emerging technologies, she said.
Automated technology could help practitioners living with a disability enter the industry, or assist production companies with smaller tasks.
One example Ms Brundson gave was the use of automated technology at film markets, where independent artists produce trailers for movies that is yet to be written, in order to secure backing and financial support.
