**Voice Cloning Technology: Key Nuggets from the Extracts**

**1.

Definition & Technical Progress:**
- Voice cloning is the AI-driven process of creating highly realistic, synthetic speech that mimics a target individual’s voice, even across different languages and accents.

- Recent breakthroughs allow AI tools (e.g., ElevenLabs) to clone a voice with as little as a three-second sample, making the technology surprisingly accessible and accurate.

- AI voice generation relies on Artificial Neural Networks, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), which are trained on massive datasets (sometimes thousands of hours) to capture not only speech but also nuances like intonation, humor, and emotion.

- These systems constantly improve, and new iterations become indistinguishable from human voices, with advanced tools even executing natural language and cultural nuances.

Use Cases:**
- **Entertainment:** Deepfake songs (e.g., AI-generated music featuring the voices of artists like Drake and The Weeknd) and dubbing in multiple languages for global content.

- **Accessibility:** Tools (like Loora) use AI tutors for language learning, providing personalized and nuanced feedback, even refining user accents.

- **Media & Communication:** AI-dubbed documentaries (such as those by China Media Group) facilitate international outreach.

- **Advertising:** Companies are recruiting people to license their likenesses (faces and voices) for synthetic character creation.

- **Scams & Fraud:** Law enforcement warns about voice cloning being used for extortion and fraud (e.g., simulating a loved one’s voice in emergency scam calls).

- **Elections & Misinformation:** Synthetic voices can impersonate public figures and sway public opinion or steal votes.

Real-world Examples:**
- AI tools enabling Barack Obama or Donald Trump to "speak" fluent Hindi with near-native accent.

- Deepfake musical collaborations, such as entirely AI-generated tracks from popular artists.

**Voice Cloning Technology: Key Nuggets from the Extracts**

**1.

Title:

Content: Language No Barrier: New AI tool can clone voice and make it say anything in multiple languages

Imagine former US President Donald Trump speaking in flawless Hindi. A new AI voice cloning tool by ElevenLabs can clone voices and make them say anything in a bunch of different languages. All it needs is a three-second sample clip and a bit of text as the prompt.

Mehul Reuben Das May 03, 2023 13:42:20 IST

Imagine former US President Donald Trump speaking in flawless Hindi. A new AI voice cloning tool by ElevenLabs can clone voices and make them say anything in a bunch of different languages. All it needs is a three-second sample clip and a bit of text as the prompt.

As advanced as AI-based voice cloning has been, there were a few limitations to it. For example, voice generators were mainly bound by the language of the source they were trained in or rather the language of the prompt that was given to them. Now, ElevenLabs, an American AI software developing company has come up with a tool that does away with that limitation.

ElevenLabs’ new AI tool can clone the voice of a person and make it say anything in a bunch of different languages. All it needs is a clear voice sample of about 3 seconds, although it also suggests that the longer the sample, the better will be the results. The new tool even manages to maintain the speaker’s original tone of voice.

Limitless possibilities
The creators expect that this would ‘extend the possibilities’ in a variety of industries such as publishing, gaming creation, and media. “Introducing Eleven Multilingual v1: Our New Speech Synthesis Model! We’re thrilled to launch our new model supporting seven new languages: French, German, Hindi, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish.”

“This advancement expands the horizons for creators, game developers, and publishers, and it paves the way for using generative media to create more localized, accessible, and imaginative content,” the company said.

Following the announcement, Twitter was flooded with comments, with users testing the software on various famous faces.

To demonstrate just how capable the new voice cloning AI tool is, Eluna AI, a platform for AI-content creators experimented with a sample clip of former US President Donald Trump.

In their demo, Eluna AI showcased a small clip of Donald Trump, speaking in his native tongue, English, followed by French, Spanish, German, Hindi and Italian, almost perfectly. The generated samples even gets the accent right, almost if he was a native speaker of the new target language.

Another user changed David Attenborough’s voice to German while the BBC broadcaster discussed the prospects of AI. “With this tool, anyone can do it,” stated the Twitter user. “It’s also worth noting that fraudsters will undoubtedly exploit this one.”

ElevenLabs says that its model was designed to understand the emotion and reasoning underlying words in order to produce natural-sounding and persuasive audio. ElevenLabs has said that some numerals and symbols are currently spoken wrongly, but that it is striving to rectify this.

Who is this new tool meant to help?
The US-based company believes its technology will be valuable in a variety of areas, including education and journalism.

Game developers and publishers can build engaging, localised experiences for worldwide audiences, breaking through language barriers and connecting with players and listeners to maximise engagement and efficiency while maintaining quality and accuracy.

“Educational institutions now have the ability to develop audio content for varied users in their target languages, enhancing language comprehension and even pronunciation abilities, as well as responding to different teaching methods and learning demands,” says the report.

Because of the model’s capacity to produce unique character-like voices, audiobook and content developers may also find it beneficial.

The conundrum of AI voice genertors
Despite its benefits, ElevenLabs’ launch comes amid widespread concern about the wave of new voice cloning technology. An unidentified TikTok user went popular last month after sharing an AI-generated Drake song starring The Weeknd.

It sparked concerns about the grey area of AI-created music and whether it constitutes a copyright violation. Nonetheless, ElevenLabs claims to be ‘fully committed’ to respecting creators’ rights in the midst of technological advancements.

“At Eleven, we think that we should seek to make the best use of emerging technology, but not at any expense,” it stated.

“As we create them, we make every effort to put suitable controls in place that reduce the possibility of detrimental abuse. With this in mind, we are entirely committed to both protecting intellectual property rights and taking action against infringement.”

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World

Music labels are worried because of AI, thanks to a surprising new song ft. Drake X The Weeknd

Someone used AI to create a whole new song featuring Drake and The Weeknd. But because the singers never sang the song, artists and music labels are worried, how AI voice modulation and AI-generated songs can disrupt the industry.

World

Artificial Imposter: 47% of Indian phone users have experienced AI voice scams, highest in the world

About half of Indian adults, or 47%, have experienced AI voice scams, nearly double the global average of 25%. Furthermore, nearly 69% of adults say they can't differentiate between a real and an AI-generated voice.

Deepdub, a film dubbing company, uses an AI to process voice and translate into a different language and promises to preserve what?

timbre
intonation
important vocal nuances

Definition & Technical Progress:**
- Voice cloning is the AI-driven process of creating highly realistic, synthetic speech that mimics a target individual’s voice, even across different languages and accents.

Deepdub, a film dubbing company, uses an AI to process voice and translate into a different language and promises to preserve what?

- Recent breakthroughs allow AI tools (e.g., ElevenLabs) to clone a voice with as little as a three-second sample, making the technology surprisingly accessible and accurate.

What is necessary for voice cloning to work?

- AI voice generation relies on Artificial Neural Networks, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), which are trained on massive datasets (sometimes thousands of hours) to capture not only speech but also nuances like intonation, humor, and emotion.

Title:

Content: UNESCO calls for regulations on use of GenAI in schools

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) called on governments to regulate the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in education and research.

Publicly available GenAI tools, such as ChatGPT, can produce automated text, images, videos, music and software code. The platforms have evolved rapidly and are already in use by hundreds of millions around the world, including many students.

Such wide-ranging capacities for information processing and knowledge production have potentially huge implications for education, as they replicate the higher-order thinking that constitutes the foundation of human learning.

However, very few countries have policies in place to ensure safe and ethical use of AI tools.

UNESCO has published global Guidance on Generative AI in Education and Research, designed to address the disruptions caused by GenAI technologies.

UNESCO’s guidance suggests immediate steps that can be taken to ensure a human-centric vision for new technology use.

This includes mandating the protection of data privacy and considering an age limit of 13 for their use in the classroom. It also outlines requirements for GenAI providers for ethical and effective use.

The guidance stresses the need for educational institutions to validate GenAI systems on their ethical and pedagogical appropriateness for education.

From the perspective of a human-centred approach, AI tools should be designed to extend or augment human intellectual abilities and social skills – and not undermine them, conflict with them or usurp them.

What is generative AI?

• Generative AI (GenAI) is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology that automatically generates content in response to prompts written in natural language conversational interfaces.

• Rather than simply curating existing webpages, by drawing on existing content, GenAI actually produces new content.

• The content can appear in formats that comprise all symbolic representations of human thinking: texts written in natural language, images (including photographs to digital paintings and cartoons), videos, music and software code.

• GenAI is trained using data collected from webpages, social media conversations and other online media. It generates its content by statistically analysing the distributions of words, pixels

or other elements in the data that it has ingested and identifying and repeating common patterns (for example, which words typically follow which other words).

• While GenAI can produce new content, it cannot generate new ideas or solutions to real-world challenges, as it does not understand real-world objects or social relations that underpin language.

How generative AI works?

The specific technologies behind GenAI are part of the family of AI technologies called Machine Learning which uses algorithms to enable it to continuously and automatically improve its performance from data.

The type of Machine Learning which has led to many of the advances in AI that we have seen in recent years, such as the use of AI for facial recognition, is known as Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), which are inspired by how the human brain works and its synaptic connections between neurons. There are many types of ANNs.

Text generative AI uses a type of ANN known as a General-purpose Transformer, and a type of General-purpose Transformer called a Large Language Model. This is why AI Text GenAI systems are often referred to as Large Language Models (LLMs). The type of LLM used by text GenAI is known as a Generative Pre-trained Transformer, or GPT (hence the ‘GPT’ in ‘ChatGPT’).

Image GenAI and music GenAI typically use a different type of ANN known as Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) which can also be combined with Variational Autoencoders. GANs have two parts (two ‘adversaries’) —  the ‘generator’ and the ‘discriminator’. In the case of image GANs, the generator creates a random image in response to a prompt, and the discriminator tries to distinguish between this generated image and real images. The generator then uses the result of the discriminator to adjust its parameters, in order to create another image. The process is repeated, possibly thousands of times, with the generator making more and more realistic images that the discriminator is less and less able to distinguish from real images. For example, a successful GAN trained on a dataset of thousands of landscape photographs might generate new but unreal images of landscapes that are almost indistinguishable from real photographs.

Meanwhile, a GAN trained on a dataset of popular music (or even music by a single artist) might generate new pieces of music that follow the structure and complexity of the original music.

GenAI has a myriad of possible uses

The release of ChatGPT in November 2022, followed by iteratively more sophisticated versions, sent shock waves worldwide, and is fuelling the race among large technology companies to position themselves in the field of GenAI model development.

GenAI has a myriad of possible uses. It can automate information processing and the presentation of outputs across all key symbolic representations of human thinking. It enables the delivery of final outputs by furnishing semi-finished knowledge products.

By freeing humans from some categories of lower-order thinking skills, this new generation of AI tools might have profound implications for how we understand human intelligence and learning.

Millions of people are now using GenAI in their daily lives and the potential of adapting the models to domain-specific AI applications seems unlimited, at least in the years to come.

Controversies around generative AI

GenAI raises multiple immediate concerns related to issues such as safety, data privacy, copyright and manipulation. Some of these are broader risks related to artificial intelligence that have been further exacerbated by GenAI, while others have newly emerged with this latest generation of tools.

i) Use of content without consent

GenAI models are built from large amounts of data (for example text, sounds, code and images) often scraped from the Internet and usually without any owner’s permission. Many image GenAI systems and some code GenAI systems have consequently been accused of violating Intellectual Property Rights. There are several ongoing international legal cases that relate to this issue.

ii) AI-generated content polluting the Internet

Because GPT training data is typically drawn from the Internet, which all too frequently includes discriminatory and other unacceptable language, developers have had to implement what they call ‘guardrails’ to prevent GPT output from being offensive and/or unethical. However, due to the absence of strict regulations and effective monitoring mechanisms, biased materials generated by GenAI are increasingly spreading throughout the Internet, polluting one of the main sources of content or knowledge for most learners across the world.

This is especially important because the material generated by GenAI can appear to be quite accurate and convincing, when often it contains errors and biased ideas. This poses a high risk for young learners who do not have solid prior knowledge of the topic in question. It also poses a recursive risk for future GPT models that will be trained on text scraped from the Internet that GPT models have themselves created which also include their biases and errors.

iii) Lack of understanding of the real world

Text GPTs are sometimes pejoratively referred to as ‘Stochastic Parrots’. While they can produce text that appears convincing, that text often contains errors and can include harmful statements. This all occurs because GPTs only repeat language patterns found in their training data (usually text drawn from the Internet), starting with random (or ‘stochastic’) patterns, and without understanding their meaning – just as a parrot can mimic sounds without actually comprehending what it is saying.

The disconnect between GenAI models ‘appearing’ to understand the text that they use and generate, and the ‘reality’ that they do not understand the language and the real world can lead teachers and students to place a level of trust in the output that it does not warrant. This poses serious risks for future education.

iv) Generating deepfakes

GenAI can be used to alter or manipulate existing images or videos to generate fake ones that are difficult to distinguish from real ones. GenAI is making it increasingly easy to create these ‘deepfakes’ and ‘fake news’. GenAI is making it easier for certain actors to commit unethical, immoral and criminal acts, such as spreading disinformation, promoting hate speech and incorporating the faces of people, without their knowledge or consent, into entirely fake and sometimes compromising films.

v) Ethical concerns

GenAI systems in education may exacerbate existing disparities in access to technology and educational resources, further deepening inequities.

GenAI systems in education may reduce human-to-human interaction and the critical social-emotional aspects of learning.

It may limit learners’ autonomy and agency by providing predetermined solutions or narrowing the range of possible learning experiences. Their long-term impact on young learners’ intellectual development needs to be investigated.

GenAI systems that mimic human interactions may have unknown psychological effects on learners, raising concerns about their cognitive development and emotional well-being, and about the potential for manipulation.

As more sophisticated GenAI systems are being developed and applied in education, they are likely to generate new biases and forms of discrimination based on the training data and methods used by the models, which can result in unknown and potentially harmful outputs.

Deepdub, a film dubbing company, uses an AI to process voice and translate into a different language and promises to preserve what?

- These systems constantly improve, and new iterations become indistinguishable from human voices, with advanced tools even executing natural language and cultural nuances.

Title:

Content: Home > Web3

AI Voice Over Generator: Turning Text to Speech in 24 Languages

newsonjapan.com -- Aug 15
Communication has crossed boundaries and languages in today's technology driven society.

The AI voice over generator, a sophisticated technology capable of translating written text into realistic speech in a variety of languages, is a driving force in this worldwide change. The astonishing capacity of these technologies to produce voice overs in 24 different languages, and often more, is propelling them to the forefront of digital communication. We go deep into the field of AI-driven text to voice below, giving practical tips for anybody interested in realizing its enormous potential.

Why Do Multilingual Skills Matter?

Language inclusion is critical for companies, schools, and content providers that want to reach a global audience. An AI voice over generator that handles various languages allows for a broader reach while also ensuring that no audience section feels alienated. Multilingual technologies, such as those that transform English transcripts into Mandarin audio or Spanish text into French voice, help to break down communication obstacles.

Practical User Advice:

Emphasize Quality Over Quantity: While having a tool that can translate text in several languages seems great, it is critical to emphasize output quality. Choose platforms that are well-known for their precision and realistic voice reproduction.

Adjust the Tone, pace, and Accent: A decent AI voice over generator enables users to adjust the tone, pace, and accent of the created speech. This adaptability guarantees that the discourse is genuine and connects with the intended listener.

Keep Up to Date: Because these technologies are based on AI, they are always improving. Regular software upgrades might bring new languages to the table or enhance current ones. To benefit from the most recent advances, keep your software up to date at all times.

Using Nuanced Speech to Bridge Cultural Gaps

Understanding a language entails understanding the nuances, intonations, and cultural nuances as well as the words themselves. Advanced AI voice over generators not only translate text to speech but also guarantee that the speech is emotionally appropriate. For example, the way a joke is presented in Japanese may vary from how it is shown in German. As a result, always use a tool that considers these subtleties in order to make the speech seem as genuine and culturally appropriate as feasible.

Potential Multilingual Text to Speech Applications:

E-Learning Platforms: Educators may build courses in one language and then utilize an AI voice over generator to translate them into numerous languages, guaranteeing that learners all over the globe can benefit.

Podcasts in different Languages: Podcast makers may reach a worldwide audience by giving their material in different languages without having to re-record episodes.

Global Business Presentations: Companies with a global presence may simply tailor their presentations to a variety of language audiences.

Scalability and pricing

Costs, like with any technology, might be an issue. With the rise of cloud-based solutions, however, many AI voice over producers now provide scalable price structures. There is undoubtedly a price option to meet your needs, whether you are an individual wishing to convert a few pages or an organization with mass requirements.

Data Privacy Is Important

Given that these technologies may be used to convert sensitive or private information, it is critical to address data privacy. Choose platforms that emphasize user data security to ensure that the material you convert stays private.

Extending the Multilingual Communication Landscape

As companies and organizations strive for a worldwide presence, the demand for multilingual communication has never been greater. Then there are AI voice over generators. These technologies provide companies, schools, and content producers an advantage by enabling them to cater to a varied audience.

Courses in numerous Languages: Educators and e-learning platforms may now offer their courses in numerous languages. Python programming may be learned in Mandarin by one student in Beijing and Portuguese by another in So Paulo. Learning results are improved by catering to their linguistic comfort. The student may concentrate on grasping the material rather than dealing with linguistic intricacies.

Digital Marketing: By employing the AI voice over generator to translate and vocalize their promotional material, brands can easily roll out worldwide campaigns. This not only saves time, but it also guarantees that the brand message is consistent across several languages.

IVR (Interactive Voice Response) Systems: Companies may customize their customer service lines by using AI-generated voices in several languages. This provides a more personalized client experience, which may dramatically increase user happiness and loyalty.

Podcasters, YouTube makers, and digital storytellers may utilize these technologies to make their material accessible in several languages, extending their fan base and worldwide reach.

Language and Cultural Nuances

While these AI voice over generators' skills are astounding, users should be conscious of the subtleties and complexity of various languages and cultures. Even if a technology is capable of converting text to voice in 24 languages, the user must verify that the material is culturally appropriate and respectful. Certain idioms or phrases in English, for example, may not have a direct counterpart in another language or may be misconstrued.

AI engineers are tackling these issues by training their models on culturally varied datasets in order to capture the nuances of each language. However, it is also the users' responsibility to examine and, if required, change the created information to guarantee its relevancy and appropriateness.

Best Practices for Using AI Voice Over Generators

Here are some practical advice for individuals who want to fully use the possibilities of AI voice over generators:

Always Review the Output: Before completing, always listen to the created voice over. Check that your pronunciation, intonation, and emotion are appropriate for the context of your topic.

Customize Settings: Most programs enable users to change the pace, pitch, and other characteristics of their voice. Experiment with these options to get the desired result.

Keep up to date: The disciplines of AI and machine learning are rapidly growing. Use the most recent version of the program or application, since developers are always refining and improving their algorithms.

Request input: If your material is intended for a particular linguistic group, get input from native speakers. They may reveal insights that non-natives may miss.

In conclusion

In the digital age, the AI voice over generator is changing the way we interact. Its capacity to convert text into lifelike voice in different languages bridges barriers, fosters inclusion, and makes global communication easier than ever. Remember to consider quality, cultural subtlety, and data protection as you investigate the numerous products in the text to speech domain. By doing so, you get access to more than simply a tool; you also gain access to worldwide dialogues.

Web3 Page: 1 | 2 | 3

Deepdub, a film dubbing company, uses an AI to process voice and translate into a different language and promises to preserve what?

What has the US Federal Trade Commission warned about the use of voice cloning tools?

Difficult to distinguish from human voice

Title:

Content: Advertisement

An Advertising Company Wants to Make Deepfake Clones of Your Face

'[I]f all goes well it will be a viable way to make an income.'

A 3D illustration of a virtual face. iLexx / iStock

Do you need money? Of course you do.

If you can tolerate a degree of ambiguity and ethical gray zones, a startup will buy a digital deepfake copy of your face via which artificial intelligence software will sell people products and education services, according to a recent report from MIT Technology Review.

As of writing, the company has roughly 100 composite "faces" lined up. And it wants to add yours.

You don't need a model-tier face to sell it for deepfake advertising

"We've got a queue of people that are dying to become these characters," said Hour One's Strategy Lead Natalie Monbiot, in the report from MIT. To join the small army of brainless faces of the marketing world, deepfake hopefuls can apply on the company's website, where you can submit your Instagram profile, email address, and your (real) name. Naturally, model-tier faces aren't necessary, since Hour One wants to use a diverse repertoire of faces, of all ages, genders, and races. If you get picked, the firm will film your face speaking and contorting into a wide array of facial expressions with a green-screen background and a high-res camera. With footage in hand, the company will feed your likenesses into an AI system, which will build a composite character with which the company can sell whatever it wants.

As of writing, Hour One develops AI-generated voices to match each video, which isn't overwhelmingly different from text-to-speech software that enables AI to speak whatever you write. Presently, the startup says it's working with more than 40 clients, including firms from e-commerce, entertainment, real estate, and digital health. The AI startup can also offer client companies an elite package where it hires professional voice actors to stand in for your composite face, and read the sales script. One of Hour One's clients is Berlitz, a school for international language that generates teacher-led video courses on dozens of languages. Berlitz hired the company to increase the number of videos it can offer consumers, but it ran into a snag using human talent, since their production crews employed the same setup repeatedly, leading to a sense of stale redundancy. "They found it really unsustainable," noted Monbiot, in the MIT report. "A human being doesn't need to waste their time filming."

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AI deepfakes emulating human work with increasing fidelity

On the subject of profit margins alone, this is a win-win for all involved and a historic step in the application of AI software capabilities in the private sector. But like every new technology, it has a dark side. Obviously, the AI startup has an ethics policy, but the language describing character security is surprisingly loose, made up of only three bullet points and an ambiguous commitment to protect "your data assets with utmost security." For an added measure, the company will stamp every synthetic video of your digitized face with a watermark, affirming its artificial origin. But is it enough?

"This looks like a fairly extreme case of technology scaling back the human's role in a particular work process," said Jessie Hammerling of the Center for Labor Research and Education at the University of California, Berkeley, in the MIT report. This means that, while providing a perfect composite "middle-man" for human interaction on visual platforms and advertising, it's not only the security of the base-person's facial identity that could be at a higher risk, but also the prospect of humans who are used to the idea of building an in-person career in jobs that are emulated to increasing fidelity by nascent deepfake and other AI capabilities. And without recourse to an alternative or universal basic income, there may come a day when significant populations of real human beings have to search much harder to earn a living.

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Deepdub, a film dubbing company, uses an AI to process voice and translate into a different language and promises to preserve what?

timbre
intonation
important vocal nuances

Use Cases:**
- **Entertainment:** Deepfake songs (e.g., AI-generated music featuring the voices of artists like Drake and The Weeknd) and dubbing in multiple languages for global content.

Eleven Labs is extending its voice cloning services for which industries?

- **Accessibility:** Tools (like Loora) use AI tutors for language learning, providing personalized and nuanced feedback, even refining user accents.

Title:

Content: Loora, an AI-driven language learning startup focused on English, has emerged from stealth to announce $9.25 million in seed funding. The company aims to improve users' conversational English skills regardless of subject matter, using voice-based interactions with its eponymous iOS assistant.

Unlike typical generative AI apps, which are mostly text-based, Loora emphasizes audio. Users interact with the app as they would with a personal human tutor. Its AI tutor can understand and help refine any user's English and accent across a wide range of topics.

Emerge led the funding round, joined by Two Lanterns Venture Partners, Kaedan Capital, and several angel investors. Tel Aviv-based Loora was founded in 2020 by CEO Roy Mor and CTO Yonti Levin. They decided to focus on English language tuition due to its global prevalence, with over 1 billion learners worldwide.

Despite the numerous existing online language learning platforms, Mor and Levin found a gap in teaching conversational English in a one-to-one environment. Traditional language learning apps – such as Duolingo, Memrise, and Babel – are great for casual learners, but inadequate for those seeking to work in English. Human tutors offer a more personalized approach, but can be expensive and inaccessible to many.

Taking advantage of recent advancements in generative AI (like those used in OpenAI's ChatGPT and the Midjourney illustrator), Loora has developed an English tutor that engages in interactive conversations, offers discussion prompts, and understands users' speech to guide their improvements. Initially, Loora created its own large language models (LLMs) in 2020, but has since transitioned to utilizing multiple third-party LLMs, each suited for different tasks. The company trains these LLMs on its own data.

Loora's main focus is on spoken English and requires users to have some prior knowledge of the language. Although the platform does not cover reading or writing, an upcoming module will introduce reading texts as conversational anchors. Therefore, if users aim to master English, they may need to supplement their learning with other sources. Regardless, Loora's approach marks an interesting advancement in the field, with potential future implications for audio interfaces in generative AI services.

Incorporating voice-based learning experiences in the language learning domain is crucial to improve pronunciation and fluency. As the no-code and low-code movement accelerates the development of tech solutions, innovative platforms like AppMaster.io can facilitate the creation of ground-breaking applications and tools for various sectors, including language learning.

The investment by Emerge, Two Lanterns Venture Partners, and Kaedan Capital is a testament to Loora's potential to revolutionize virtual English education through its domain-specific AI tutor. It will be interesting to see how this voice-driven approach shapes the future of language learning and other generative AI applications.

How will educational institutions benefit from developing AI voice audio content for languages learners?

Enhance language comprehension
Enhance pronunciation abilities

What is unique about Loora's AI English tutor?

understand's users' speech
guides users' improvements

- **Media & Communication:** AI-dubbed documentaries (such as those by China Media Group) facilitate international outreach.

Title:

Content: Advertisment

China Media Group Debuts AI-dubbed English Documentary, Pioneering Global Communication

China Media Group launches its first AI-dubbed English documentary, enhancing global reach and fostering international understanding through advanced AI technology.

Aqsa Younas Rana
Updated On
New Update

In a groundbreaking move, China Media Group has launched its first AI-dubbed English documentary, marking a significant milestone in the use of artificial intelligence for global media outreach. This innovative approach to dubbing not only showcases the advancements in AI technology but also underscores China's ambitions to foster better international communication and understanding. Through this initiative, the documentary, originally produced in Mandarin, has been made accessible to a broader English-speaking audience, enhancing its global reach and impact.

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Revolutionizing Content Accessibility

The application of AI in dubbing the documentary into English reflects a growing trend in leveraging technology to bridge language barriers. Similar to the educational advancements discussed in 'Voice Cloning in Education: Bridging Language Gaps in Learning Environments,' this initiative by China Media Group capitalizes on the potential of AI voice cloning technology. By generating lifelike digital replicas of human voices, the documentary's AI-dubbed version maintains the authenticity of the original narration while making it understandable for English-speaking viewers. This technological leap not only improves accessibility but also ensures the delivery of content with emotional depth and cultural nuances intact.

The launch of this AI-dubbed documentary serves as a testament to China's commitment to enhancing global dialogue and cultural exchange. By removing language barriers, China Media Group is effectively broadening the documentary's audience, enabling people from different parts of the world to gain insights into Chinese culture, history, and perspectives. This initiative aligns with the broader objective of promoting mutual understanding and respect among diverse global communities, paving the way for more inclusive and informed international discourse.

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Setting New Standards in Media Production

China Media Group's pioneering use of AI technology in documentary dubbing sets new standards for media production and distribution. It illustrates the potential of AI to transform traditional media practices, making content more accessible and engaging for global audiences. As AI technology continues to evolve, it is likely to open up further possibilities for creating multilingual content, thereby enhancing the reach and impact of media across borders. This development also raises important considerations regarding the ethical use of voice cloning technology, underscoring the need for guidelines that ensure its responsible application in media and beyond.

As we reflect on the implications of this technological advancement, it becomes clear that AI-dubbed media content holds significant promise for fostering international understanding and cooperation. By making diverse cultural and educational materials available in multiple languages, we can build a more connected and informed world. The initiative by China Media Group not only highlights the practical applications of AI in media but also invites us to contemplate the future of global communication in an increasingly digital age.

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- **Advertising:** Companies are recruiting people to license their likenesses (faces and voices) for synthetic character creation.

- **Scams & Fraud:** Law enforcement warns about voice cloning being used for extortion and fraud (e.g., simulating a loved one’s voice in emergency scam calls).

Title:

Content: OpenAI's Johansson gaffe pushes voice cloning into spotlight

Law enforcement warned that AI clones could be used to extort money from loved ones over the phone

By AFP

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Scarlett Johansson voiced an AI character in the film "Her". — Reuters file

Published: Mon 27 May 2024, 7:51 PM

Last updated: Mon 27 May 2024, 7:52 PM

OpenAI was forced to apologise to actor Scarlett Johansson last week for using her voice -- or something very similar -- on its latest chatbot, throwing the spotlight on to voice-cloning tech.

Although OpenAI denied the voice they used was Johansson's, their case was not helped by CEO Sam Altman flagging the new model with a one-word message on social media -- "Her".

Johansson voiced an AI character in the film "Her", which Altman has previously said is his favourite film about the technology.

Right from the start, AI voice cloning has proved problematic.

Last year, British firm Elevenlabs went viral for all the wrong reasons when it released its voice-cloning software.

Internet pranksters immediately began pushing out deepfaked celebrities -- Harry Potter star Emma Watson was shown reading Hitler's Mein Kampf.

Law enforcement warned that AI clones could be used to extort money from loved ones over the phone.

The technology has developed rapidly in the past year becoming far more realistic and nuanced.

Danish entrepreneur Victor Riparbelli, CEO of British AI firm Synthesia, told AFP it was largely down to a program called Tortoise that was released two years ago.

The program's developers threw thousands of hours of voice data into their model in an unstructured way and discovered it not only learnt what to say but how to say it.

"That was a pretty big paradigm shift," Riparbelli said on the sidelines of last week's VivaTech conference in Paris.

Tortoise was an open source program and Elevenlabs was the first to go to market using it.

OpenAI uses similar systems though they do not release any details.

Much of the controversy around voice cloning has focused on concerns over people misusing the software.

But the claim against OpenAI is unusual because it is the company itself accused of playing fast and loose.

"It was very unfortunate that OpenAI did that -- really not very good," Katya Laine, CEO of TALKR.ai, told AFP at VivaTech.

"If they actually cloned her voice without her knowing then I think that's very very bad," said Riparbelli.

The two entrepreneurs are among hundreds harnessing AI voice programs for uses that they argue will make companies more efficient.

Laine's firm provides virtual voice assistants -- essentially AI customer service agents.

She said her firm's system could now resolve 25 to 30 percent of calls without any human involvement.

Synthesia specialises in video avatars, which Riparbelli said allowed any office worker to turn text or slides into a video performed by a realistic AI.

Both Riparbelli and Laine allow their clients to use their own avatars, off-the-shelf products or those supplied by the likes of OpenAI and Elevenlabs.

Riparbelli said Synthesia used actors whose likenesses and voices were licensed for two years with an option to renew after the initial period.

The problems arise if actors' voices are used without their consent.

The fiasco overshadowed a developer conference in Paris last week when OpenAI was showing off a suite of new tools.

In front of a big screen in an auditorium, Romain Huet, OpenAI's Head of Developer Experience, breezily chatted into his phone.

Seconds later, his short voice sample had been processed and could be heard commentating over a generated video -- in five languages.

The demonstration showed how quickly the field is moving, but the headlines had already been written.

The Washington Post asked in a newsletter "How dumb is OpenAI?", other commentators were suggesting wunderkind Altman was nothing more than a huckster.

Nonetheless, Riparbelli was open to OpenAI's argument that they had used another actor who just sounded liked Johansson.

"If it's not her but someone who sounds a lot like her... where do you draw that line," Riparbelli asked.

"If they're not allowed to use someone who sounds a lot like her, then it sets a very odd precedent."

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Content: That’s how easily your vote can be stolen – and used for AI fraud

The person on the phone sounded exactly like Ruth Card’s grandson Brandon.

He needed money fast and Ruth, recognizing his voice, went to the bank.

Benjamin Perkins’ parents received a call from a man who said he was a lawyer. Benjamin was alleged to have killed another man and needed bail money. The lawyer handed the phone to someone – who sounded exactly like Benjamin.

In both cases, as Washington Post reported on, it involved a new form of fraud – voices cloned using artificial intelligence.

“Impossible to imagine a year ago”

In the past, large amounts of audio material were required to be able to reliably clone someone’s voice, but AI development is going at a breakneck pace – now it’s faster, easier and more accessible than before.

– What was impossible to imagine a year ago is free today. The companies that make and sell AI want a lot of data – that’s why they give away their services, says Tobias Falk, lecturer at the department of computer and systems science at Stockholm University, to SVT Nyheter.

“Having reached a point where the machines can imitate us”

– Algorithms are trained to imitate how the human brain works. It’s going really fast now, but it’s taken decades to get to the point where the machines can mimic us as well as they do today.

The police’s national fraud center writes in an email to SVT Nyheter that they are “aware of the phenomenon” but that they have not seen any cases in Sweden at the moment. “We monitor this and have communication with international contacts,” writes the police spokesperson.

How many seconds long clip is enough to be able to clone someone’s voice? And how well does it actually work in Swedish?

Watch the video above for our test.

What are some risks regarding AI voice clning?

Deepdub, a film dubbing company, uses an AI to process voice and translate into a different language and promises to preserve what?

timbre
intonation
important vocal nuances

Real-world Examples:**
- AI tools enabling Barack Obama or Donald Trump to "speak" fluent Hindi with near-native accent.

How will educational institutions benefit from developing AI voice audio content for languages learners?

- Deepfake musical collaborations, such as entirely AI-generated tracks from popular artists.

Deepdub, a film dubbing company, uses an AI to process voice and translate into a different language and promises to preserve what?

timbre
intonation
important vocal nuances

Deepdub, a film dubbing company, uses an AI to process voice and translate into a different language and promises to preserve what?

timbre
intonation
important vocal nuances

Deepdub, a film dubbing company, uses an AI to process voice and translate into a different language and promises to preserve what?

timbre
intonation
important vocal nuances