Hearing Sir Laurence Olivier’s voice catch up on his work notes probably won’t bring you the same pleasure as seeing the outstanding English actor on stage or screen, but it can make your morning more interesting.
That’s the vision of synthetic intelligence startup ElevenLabs, which announced this week that enthusiasts of Hollywood icons like Judy Garland and James Dean can now pay attention to the voices of deceased movie stars narrated in books, articles, and other virtual texts.
The company said it reached agreements with Olivier’s heirs, Garland, Dean and Burt Reynolds to upload their voices to a library of AI-generated voices in ElevenLab’s new Reader app. The product allows users to listen to text on their phone. with actors’ voices available for individual broadcasts.
ElevenLabs provided details about the financial reimbursement it would offer to the actors’ heirs.
“We deeply respect their legacy and are revered for hearing their voices within our platform,” Dustin Blank, ElevenLabs’ director of partnerships, said in a blog post. “Adding them to our developing roster of storytellers marks a first step forward in our project to make content available in any language and in any voice. ”
Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland’s daughter and representative of her estate, said in her message that her circle of relatives was delighted to “see our mother’s voice before the millions of people who love her. ”
The use of AI to recreate an edit of someone’s voice has attracted negative attention after being used in nefarious ways, adding to the creation earlier this year of a fake robocall from President Joe Biden urging others not to vote in New Hampshire’s presidential primary.
In another incident, actress Scarlett Johansson and May said she was “shocked, angry and in disbelief” after discovering that a voice option on OpenAI’s ChatGPT app sounded like her. Johansson had rejected OpenAI founder Sam Altman’s offer to voice ChatGPT’s text-to-speech product. Altman said the voice, not Johansson’s.
AI was a key factor in the SAG-AFTRA strike last year. A new acting contract includes limits on synthetic intelligence. TV and film manufacturers will have to download actors’ consent before employing a virtual replica, and artists are also entitled to reimbursement for employing AI. to create your virtual image.
Quotes were delayed by at least 15 minutes.
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