The SNP's nationalised rail service is scrapping the use of its AI station ‘announcer’ following a row with a renowned Scots voiceover artist.
In an embarrassing climbdown, ScotRail is set to remove the AI voice of ‘Iona’, which was based on that of real-life actor Gayanne Potter, after complaints from the public and ‘very concerned’ ministers.
In May trained voiceover professional Ms Potter from Edinburgh hit out at the company after learning her voice data had been introduced on Scotland’s trains without her permission.
ScotRail initially insisted it had no plans to change the voice - claiming Ms Potter’s dispute was with a foreign company called Readspeaker that held her voice data from a recording in 2021.
Now, in a victory for the actor, The Daily Mail can reveal an ‘alternative voice’ is being sourced by Transport Scotland.
