Artificial intelligence continues to seep into every aspect of our lives: search results, chatbots, images on social media, viral videos, documentaries about dead celebrities. Of course, it’s also seeping into our ears through our podcast clients.
A new class of emerging AI-powered services can take audio clips from voice recordings and build models off them. Anything you type into a computer can be spit out as an impression of that person’s voice. Proponents of AI voice cloning see these tools as a way to make life a little easier for content creators. The robovoices can be used to fix mistakes, read ads, or perform other mundane duties. Critics warn that the same tools can be weaponized to steal identities, scam people, and make it sound like someone has said horrible things they never did.
This week, we ask WIRED staff writer Boone Ashworth—who is also the producer of this podcast—to sit down in front of the microphone and bring his AI voice clone experiments with him.
Show Notes
Read Boone’s story about AI voice clones. Read all of our recent coverage of artificial intelligence.
Recommendations
Boone recommends the Arte Concert “Passengers” playlist on YouTube. Mike recommends The New York Times Presents: The Legacy of J Dilla, a documentary on FX and Hulu. Lauren recommends starting Succession—from the beginning! very important!—if you haven’t. It’s on HBO.
Boone Ashworth can be found on Twitter @BooneAshworth. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth. Our theme music is by Solar Keys.
How to Listen
You can always listen to this week’s podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here’s how:
If you’re on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts, and search for Gadget Lab. If you use Android, you can find us in the Google Podcasts app just by tapping here. We’re on Spotify too. And in case you really need it, here’s the RSS feed.
Services Marketplace – Listings, Bookings & Reviews