Planet Money

AI Podcast 2.0: The host in the machine

May 31, 2023

The podcast explores the fascinating world of AI-generated voices, illustrating how technology has evolved to convincingly replicate human speech. A playful experiment features the creation of a synthetic voice modeled after a former host. The conversation transitions into ethical questions about voice duplication, enhanced by insights from musician Grimes on AI's role in music. Humor also shines through an entertaining exchange between a human host and their AI counterpart, capturing the potential and challenges of artificial intelligence in creative fields.

31:46

Creator website

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Episode notes

Intro

2min

Exploring AI Voice Synthesis and Synthetic Identities

5min

The Evolution of Voice Synthesis Technology

2min

Advancements in Voice Cloning Technology

6min

AI and the Future of Music: Grimes' Experiment

8min

The Journey of Creating Synthetic Voice Avatars

2min

The Emotional Impact of AI Voice Technology

3min

Exploring the Voice of AI: A Lighthearted Encounter

5min

In Part 1 of this series, AI proved that it could use real research and real interviews to write an original script for an episode of Planet Money. Our next task was to teach the computer how to sound like us. How to read that script aloud like a Planet Money host.

On today's show, we explore the world of AI-generated voices, which have become so lifelike in recent years that they can credibly imitate specific people. To test the limits of the technology, we attempt to create our own synthetic voice by training a computer on recordings of former Planet Money host Robert Smith. Then we introduce synthetic Robert to his very human namesake.

There are a lot of ethical, and economic, questions raised by a technology that can duplicate anyone's voice. To help us make sense of it all, we seek the advice of an artist who has embraced AI voice clones: the musician Grimes.

This episode was produced by Emma Peaslee and Willa Rubin, with help from Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Keith Romer and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Engineering by James Willetts. Jess Jiang is our acting executive producer.

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