The Human Touch in AI Voices

In recent months, rapid advances in AI audio technology have made it possible to clone any voice, chat with artificial versions of celebrities like Judi Dench, and make a podcast on any topic in minutes.  

Those developments have raised ethical questions, opening the door for election disinformation and scams. And they’ve also raised philosophical questions about what complex constellation of qualities allows us to relate to a voice.

Martine Powers speaks with technology columnist Geoffrey Fowler about how Silicon Valley is attempting to re-create the human voice – and where they’re falling short.

Also mentioned in today’s show: How to spot AI-generated “deepfakes” of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff with help from Elana Gordon. It was edited by Peter Bresnan with help from Monica Campbell and mixed by Sean Carter.



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