AI voice cloning technology leverages machine learning algorithms to replicate a person's voice by analyzing unique speech patterns, requiring only a short audio sample to mimic tone, inflection, and emotional nuances.

Advanced models like ElevenLabs and Microsoft's VALL-E can generate realistic multilingual speech from as little as three seconds of audio, maintaining the speaker's original tone and emotional depth.

This technology is widely used in entertainment for dubbing films and games, in accessibility to create lifelike voiceovers for educational materials, and in language education to develop tailored audio content for diverse learning needs.

For foreign language instructors, AI voice cloning offers the potential to generate authentic Listening Comprehension materials at low proficiency levels (ILR 1 - 1+), addressing the challenge of sourcing localized and accessible content.

However, ethical concerns arise, such as the potential misuse of cloned voices for fraud, impersonation, or misinformation, which necessitates robust safeguards and transparency in educational applications.

Legal frameworks remain inconsistent globally, with the U.S. focusing on copyright and personality rights, while the EU's AI Act introduces penalties for AI misuse but lacks specific voice cloning regulations.

To mitigate risks, companies like OpenAI implement measures such as watermarking generated audio and requiring explicit consent for voice replication, ensuring ethical and responsible use.

Future advancements in AI voice cloning, such as enhanced multilingual capabilities, promise to create immersive and culturally sensitive language learning experiences tailored to diverse learners' needs.

AI voice cloning technology leverages machine learning algorithms to replicate a person's voice by analyzing unique speech patterns, requiring only a short audio sample to mimic tone, inflection, and emotional nuances.

Title:

Content: The scary side of artificial intelligence

The pros of AI outweigh the Cons or threats in our day-to-day lives, and there’s no magic pill to protect us from the scary threats of AI.

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  • Updated On Oct 3, 2023 at 03:02 PM IST

Artificial intelligence (AI), as we all know, is the simulation of human intelligence leveraging computer systems and machines. AI programs can continuously learn and evolve with experience. In technical terms, AI systems render the output by churning and analyzing the data for correlations and patterns and help make future predictions using these patterns.

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Today AI is being used extensively in all facets of our lives starting from lifestyle, e-commerce, home appliances, automobiles, navigation, transport, healthcare, agriculture, education, financial planning, chatbots, marketing, cyber security, virtual assistant, industrial automation and many more.

Clearly, we have and are leveraging the strengths of AI to the fullest to automate the routine tasks and make it auto-learn over a period. There’s no doubt that AI has revolutionized the lives of all – organizations, consumers etc. But as they say, “Everything comes at a price”. This analogy is quite true for AI as well, there have been a lot of threats that have emerged using AI and are being utilized by the Cyber criminals to dupe the ignorant users, cause mental stress and extort money.

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I’m not going to delve into all of threats but would like to elucidate some of the real ones that have come to the surface recently:

Voice cloning or mimicry

As the name suggests, it uses machine learning algorithms to simulate anyone’s voice. It requires certain voice data to analyze and learn the specific patterns of any individual. There are certain advantages of cloning a voice that can be used in voice assistants, chatbots, navigation systems and other areas. Voice cloning has existed for a while but was restricted to experts who possess the technical knowledge to be able to use the same. But now AI Voice cloning tools are available on the open Internet that anyone can leverage with literally no technical knowledge or cost to clone anyone’s voice. All you need to do is just Google and it will pop up and get a bunch of both free and paid AI Voice cloning tools.

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In fact, recently one of the global leaders in online protection published a report stating how AI is fueling a rise in online voice scams, with just three seconds of audio required to clone a person’s voice. This is extremely creepy. Just imagine, if a Cyber-criminal clones your voice and tricks your near ones by making them believe that they are talking to you, and request for money due to any distress reasons. In fact, these are not assumptions but real-life incidents that are happening across the world every minute.

Deepfakes AI

Deepfakes AI are being used to impersonate an individual by manipulating videos, images, audios, and other content available on the social media platforms using deep learning techniques. It mainly transforms existing content from one person to another. This is another area that has been exploited by the Cyber criminals in the recent past, and there are a few deepfake cases that have made waves on the Internet. One of the most famous ones being Deepfake created by a VFX artist of one of Hollywood’s most famous male actors. This piece was so well made by rendering thousands of pictures using artificial versions of the actor. There are similar Deepfakes incidents involving other global celebrities and leaders. The damage and misuse of the deepfakes videos could be extremely dangerous for the human society and can be used by terrorists to incite riots and create nuisance.

Creating virtual people

This is another area where AI is being used to create people that do not exist. There are a lot of websites that allow you to generate a random image by just specifying the age group, gender & ethnicity, and you can continue to refresh these images at the click of a button. Be mindful of the fact that these images pertain to people that do not exist in this world. On the similar lines, there’s an emerging trend of AI news anchors that possess a human-like appearance and are fed data that they can read using text-to-speech technology. Recently, there's been a surge of AI-Driven robotic new anchors in multiple language channels. While the main objective of this initiative is to provide royalty free or cost-effective human images for branding and other purposes. However, the overuse of these technologies causes Fear of missing out (FOMO), Feeling of inadequacy, dissatisfaction, and isolation may potentially lead to psychological and emotional vulnerabilities.

One of the Hollywood movies, ‘HER’ portrayed an introverted and lonely writer (Joaquin Phoenix) who purchases an AI virtual assistant personified through a female voice to assist him in his writing job. However, when he finds out about its ability to learn and adapt, he falls in love with it. The film delves into emotional vulnerability and the impact of AI on human relationships.

Needless to say, that the pros of AI outweigh the Cons or threats in our day-to-day lives, and there’s no magic pill to protect us from the scary threats of AI. However, there are certain preventive tips that one can follow to mitigate any such risks. Do spread awareness with your family and friends:

  • Set some code words with family, and friends to verify the identity during emergency circumstances
  • Optimize social media presence by limiting your connections with only known contacts and avoid connecting with any unknown ones
  • Avoid saying ‘Yes’ as a greeting while receiving unknown calls as it can be used to authorize credit card charges or other purposes
  • Continuously update privacy settings on social media to allow viewing by friends and family only
  • Avoid clicking on any suspicious links or calls received without proper due diligence
  • Do not share your passwords and other sensitive information with anyone
  • Verify the credentials of any online information before circulating it through various mediums
  • Avoid public Wi-Fi connections offered at coffee shops or airports, which requires to enter password
  • Closely monitor the time spent by younger generation on social media and online gaming
  • Finally, in case of any suspicion, double check and report it to the host site or concerned authorities
The author is the CIO of MOVIN

Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETCIO does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETCIO shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organization directly or indirectly.

  • Published On Oct 3, 2023 at 03:02 PM IST

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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?

What is necessary for voice cloning to work?

Advanced models like ElevenLabs and Microsoft's VALL-E can generate realistic multilingual speech from as little as three seconds of audio, maintaining the speaker's original tone and emotional depth.

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Content: • Text size
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Photo: en.oxu.az
“Fraudsters will be able to call the voice of your mother ”: Microsoft has created a new neural network
Microsoft has introduced a new project in the field of artificial intelligence.
The development called VALL-E can very accurately simulate any human voice, after listening to it for only three seconds, BaigeNews.kz reports with reference to IChip.
Moreover, artificial intelligence is able to imitate a person while preserving both the timbre and the emotional coloring of his voice.
Positioned as a language model of the neural codec development relies on EnCodec technology.
VALL-E was taught at the LibriLight library, which contains about 60,000 hours of speech received from more than 7,000 people.
However, for now this is all exclusively speech in English, so domestic telephone fraudsters will still have to wait before launching a mass call to residents of the post-Soviet space.
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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?

What is necessary for voice cloning to work?

This technology is widely used in entertainment for dubbing films and games, in accessibility to create lifelike voiceovers for educational materials, and in language education to develop tailored audio content for diverse learning needs.

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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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.

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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.

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

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

Enhance language comprehension
Respond to different learning demands

For foreign language instructors, AI voice cloning offers the potential to generate authentic Listening Comprehension materials at low proficiency levels (ILR 1 - 1+), addressing the challenge of sourcing localized and accessible content.

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

However, ethical concerns arise, such as the potential misuse of cloned voices for fraud, impersonation, or misinformation, which necessitates robust safeguards and transparency in educational applications.

Title:

Content: US teachers dissatisfied with being fired using AI to fake racist recordings of principals in retaliation for arrest
Author: United Morning Post
Published: Updated:
A Maryland college teacher used artificial intelligence (AI) to falsify a recording of a principal criticizing Jews and blacks, causing the principal to face accusations of racism and anti-Semitism, raising concerns about AI again.
The fake recording began circulating in January of this year.
Dazhon Darien, a 31-year-old physical education teacher at Pikesville High School, was accused of falsifying the voice of principal Eric Eiswert in retaliation for a December investigation into possible misuse of school funds by Darien.
After the incident, Eswart was verbally abused and threatened, and Darien was arrested at the end of last month.
After the recording went viral, activist DeRay McKesson, who has nearly a million fans, sent a letter asking the school to fire the principal involved, but the recording was later proved to be a forgery, and McKesson admitted that he had been fooled.
Billy Burke, executive director of the union representing the principals, said: “I am concerned about the harm these actions cause. ” Attorney Schellenberg also said the Parksville incident highlighted the need to“ keep the law up to speed with technology. ”
A professor at the University of Colorado analyzed the sound and found that it contained traces of AI-generated content and human editing.
Farid, a digital forensics expert at the University of California, Berkeley, also discovered that the voice had been tampered with and stitched together by multiple recordings.
"It takes just one photo to put a specific person into a segment, and it takes just 30 seconds for a voice to replicate someone's voice," Farid said.
He also said that the current threat is not only to celebrities, but also to high school principals and children, and anyone can be vulnerable to attack.
“This AI technology affects the economy and the country as a whole. ”
This article is authorized by the United Morning Post.

What are some risks regarding AI voice clning?

Legal frameworks remain inconsistent globally, with the U.S. focusing on copyright and personality rights, while the EU's AI Act introduces penalties for AI misuse but lacks specific voice cloning regulations.

Title:

Content: 【 AI Competition 】 Hong Kong Chatbot Tech Companies Are Not Afraid of ChatGPT in Cantonese + Small Language Model Win
10: 00 2023 / 11 / 04
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Wu Dechuan, founder and director of science and technology in Latin America, believes that the regulations on AI technology and data privacy protection around the world are still ambiguous, and it is the biggest stumbling block to development.
Generative AI (Generative AI) ChatGPT was launched at the end of last year, and it has captured the attention of the world, and major technology companies around the world have also actively deployed it.
For Hong Kong SMEs who are already working on AI chatbot technology, is the impact of the birth of ChatGPT positive or negative?
How should we deal with the impact of the monopolization of the market by large science and technology enterprises?
【 AI Business Opportunities 】 Help YouTuber Subtitle Hong Kong Cantonese Subtitle App to Expand B2B Market
The head of Lenovo Japan ’ s Daiwa Lab insists on top-down management and calls on the team to speak up and brainstorm.
In an interview with this newspaper, Derek Wu, founder and chief technology officer of Parami, a local SME that was founded in 2018 and mainly assists companies in developing chatbot solutions, admitted that the epidemic and the emergence of ChatGPT have really brought the AI technology boom back to life and given a different life.
But the outside world is giving these technologies another chance, and all industries are becoming more valued.
He bluntly said that this is indeed a huge development opportunity for him, who has been focusing on the development of AI chatbots.
Can be used as sales teaching to accompany users to chat
However, when AI and chatbots become hot words, it will naturally become a battle for large and medium-sized enterprises. Derek believes that for traditional enterprises that are already drilling related, the pressure is certainly there.
But as long as you find the right way to fight, it ’ s no big deal.
He revealed that the company, for example, started building its own language model based on Cantonese as early as 2019.
After all, there are fewer speakers in this area.
At the same time, based on the model design of a number of different types of chatbots, in addition to being used as customer service, but also can be used in sales, teaching, accompanying users to chat, etc., "and the outside world is currently mainly developed large language models the biggest difference is that we mainly do small language models, convenient for users to customize, for specific purposes."
Derek went on to say that since large language models are like “sharing the same brain ”, they may not be suitable for businesses.
Companies have internal data and should not upload it to this head at will, otherwise it is like sharing information with others, which is equivalent to data leakage.
Therefore, the company will mainly focus on modular design to help companies customize their own models.
PHOTO Latin America partnered with the Mental Health Advisory Committee last year to launch a chatbot for people in need of emotional support. (Photo of PHOTO Latin America)
Everywhere, regulatory chaos is the biggest stumbling block.
Derek stressed that only technology companies that lack their own technology assets and only know how to use technology for trading are most vulnerable. "We have our own research and development model, and we are confident that it will not be easy to defeat."
On the contrary, the regulations of various countries and regions for AI technology and data privacy protection are still ambiguous, lack of standards, and there are many gray areas, which is the biggest stumbling block.
He refers to:
It is true that AI technology wants to be global, but the legal provisions in various markets around the world are not clear, making people feel helpless.
It has become more difficult to expand overseas markets, and I don ’ t know what to do with it. The legal risk is too high.
Therefore, at present, the company can only focus on the Hong Kong market, follow the rules of Hong Kong, and then plan to expand to the market with clearer AI regulations. "After all, they are afraid of stepping on landmines, and the retrospective period is long and the fines are high.
He also believes that it is not a good thing for the EU to put forward a draft AI Act. “After all, there are rules that will allow technology companies to have clearer and clearer guidelines during research and development. ” Therefore, Derek hopes that both Hong Kong and foreign governments should set up clearer regulations as soon as possible.
Otherwise, it will only be "two ends of the land."
Reporter: Tseng Hsiao-wen
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To mitigate risks, companies like OpenAI implement measures such as watermarking generated audio and requiring explicit consent for voice replication, ensuring ethical and responsible use.

Title:

Content: OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, provided a glimpse into their latest artificial intelligence (AI) innovation on Friday—a tool known as Voice Engine, capable of generating “natural-sounding speech” and mimicking human voices with remarkable accuracy. According to OpenAI’s blog post, Voice Engine can produce lifelike speech from just a single 15-second audio sample, closely resembling the original speaker.

This cutting-edge AI tool has far-reaching applications, including reading assistance, content translation, and providing a voice for individuals who are nonverbal or afflicted by speech conditions. Despite its potential benefits, OpenAI acknowledges the serious risks associated with Voice Engine, particularly in an election year.

Development of Voice Engine began in late 2022, with private testing conducted among a select group of trusted partners starting late last year. OpenAI stresses that these partners adhere to stringent usage policies, ensuring explicit consent from the original speaker and prohibiting unauthorized impersonation.

To maintain transparency, any audio generated by Voice Engine is watermarked to aid in tracing its origin. OpenAI advocates for widespread deployment of voice authentication to verify the original speaker’s consent and suggests implementing a “no-go voice list” to prevent the creation of voices resembling prominent figures.

Moreover, OpenAI recommends phasing out voice-based authentication for sensitive information access, such as bank accounts. Despite these precautions, the company remains cautious about releasing Voice Engine more broadly.

OpenAI aims to foster a dialogue on the responsible deployment of synthetic voices, considering societal adaptation to these advancements. Based on ongoing discussions and test results, the company will make informed decisions regarding the technology’s widespread deployment.

The unveiling of Voice Engine comes amid escalating concerns surrounding AI-generated deepfakes and their potential to propagate misinformation, particularly in the context of elections. As OpenAI navigates the ethical and societal implications of Voice Engine, the tech community awaits further insights into the future of this transformative AI tool.

By Impact Lab

Future advancements in AI voice cloning, such as enhanced multilingual capabilities, promise to create immersive and culturally sensitive language learning experiences tailored to diverse learners' needs.

How will AI Voice help educators with building courses?

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

Enhance language comprehension
Respond to different learning demands