'Yellowstone' star Lainey Wilson testifies AI using her voice was 'gut punch': 'It is a personal violation'

Lainey Wilson testified in front of congress during a hearing regarding artificial intelligence and intellectual property on Friday.

Wilson shared her experience as a "victim" of AI. The hearing began with an example of Johnny Cash's voice used to sing the lyrics of "Barbie Girl" to the tune of "Folsom Prison Blues."

Many artists are now seeing their voices used to create music and other content without their consent, according to Wilson. This AI-generated content used their voices in "questionable settings" or to sing lyrics "they would never write."

"I use my music and my voice to tell stories, to connect to my fans and to help them to connect to each other. My art is uniquely and literally me, my name, my likeness, my voice," she said. "I do not have to tell you how much of a gut punch it is to have your name, your likeness or your voice ripped from you and used in ways that you could never imagine or would never allow. It is wrong, plain and simple.

"There aren't many things that we can control in life, but making decisions about the use of our own selves, our own unique qualities, that should be one," Wilson continued. "I am excited about a lot of ways that artificial intelligence can be used to help people, but I'm nervous about how it can be used to take personal rights."

The "Yellowstone" star emphasized that musicians should have a "choice" in allowing AI platforms to use their voice to create new content. According to Wilson, her likeness has been used to promote weight-loss gummies. As an artist with young fans, she insisted that she would never promote that product.

"I've got a lot of little kids watching me, a lot of little girls and a lot of little boys. And I want to encourage them to feel comfortable in their own skin and love themselves. And I would never in a million years ever do anything like that," she told the committee. "But at the end of the day, you know, people are like, ‘I got to see it to believe it.’ Well, they're seeing it, and they're believing it."