I think one of the worst reasons people in the audio sphere use AI is purely for the sake of avoiding collaboration. Degrading your own content for the purpose of being all alone seems like a very sad reward.
I got into audios strictly as a collaborator. I was a writer and editor long before I was a voice actor. I made friends that way. Part of the joy of creating was sharing my ideas with VAs and getting excited with them as we built the raw inspiration into a completed work.
I've met long-term friends through collaborating, I've had my work elevated by the performances and visuals contributed by voice actors and illustrators. I've helped other people grow and been helped in turn. Being part of a community is so much more valuable than being able to turn out audios slightly faster.
Seeing VAs getting used to just using AI voice changers in place of collaborative casts, or using AI generated images rather than collaborating with artists depresses the fuck out of me. They grow so dependent and accustomed to using them that even the base level of human communication needed for collaboration starts to feel impossible to them. We could have been friends, man. You could have been part of something you love and share with others. Gen AI traps you in a very lonely little box. Break out of it.
