Voice cloning technology is a rapidly developing field that uses artificial intelligence and deep learning to replicate human voices, making it incredibly realistic and accessible.

This technology has the potential to revolutionize various industries, including entertainment, accessibility, and education, but it also raises concerns about its misuse for scams and other malicious activities.

The development of voice cloning technology involves using text input and short voice clips, typically 3-15 seconds, to generate natural-sounding human voices similar to the original speaker.

For instance, OpenAI's voice cloning tool can create fake multilingual human voices, and ElevenLabs' AI tool can clone voices in multiple languages with a 3-second sample clip [1].

The technology has improved significantly over the past year, with advancements in voice cloning, such as the Tortoise program, which uses unstructured voice data to improve voice cloning.

Voice cloning technology has various applications, including entertainment, where it can be used to create realistic voiceovers for movies, games, and audiobooks.

It can also be used to enhance accessibility, such as providing digital voice creation services for people with speech problems, enabling them to create a digital voice copy.

Additionally, voice cloning technology can be used in education, journalism, and virtual voice assistants, making it a versatile tool with limitless possibilities.

However, the technology also raises concerns about its misuse for scams, such as fake kidnapping calls, ransom demands, and fake songs with real artists.

According to the FTC Chair, AI voice clones can turbocharge scams, and 47% of Indian phone users have experienced AI voice scams, the highest in the world [10].

The legal implications of voice cloning technology are still evolving, with concerns about copyright violation and intellectual property.

In the United States, copyright law has not caught up with generative AI challenges, and nobody owns copyrights on AI-generated works due to lack of human authorship.

The use of AI-generated audio without permission or compensation violates copyright laws and artist compensation, and lawmakers should prioritize creator interests in policy making.

The Federal Trade Commission has adopted a Declaratory Ruling on AI-generated voices under TCPA, which prohibits the use of artificial voices in telemarketing without prior express written consent from consumers.

The FCC has also issued a Notice of Inquiry on AI-generated voice calls, and 26 state attorneys general have urged the FCC to take action against AI-generated robocall violators.

Real-world examples of voice cloning technology include China Media Group's launch of its first AI-dubbed English documentary, which enhances global reach and understanding.

ElevenLabs has raised $80 million for voice AI development and has been valued at over $1 billion after funding.

The company's voice cloning software has gone viral, and it has been used by 41% of Fortune 500 employees for audio content.

However, the use of voice cloning technology also raises ethical challenges, such as the need for guidelines and regulations to prevent its misuse.

OpenAI has apologized for using a voice similar to Scarlett Johansson's in its chatbot, highlighting the need for consent and respect for creators' rights.

ElevenLabs has committed to respecting creators' rights and protecting intellectual property, and Acapella has urged companies to adhere to ethical standards to prevent legal accountability [9].

In conclusion, voice cloning technology is a rapidly developing field with significant potential and concerns.

While it can revolutionize various industries, it also raises concerns about its misuse for scams and other malicious activities.

The legal implications of voice cloning technology are still evolving, and lawmakers should prioritize creator interests in policy making.

Real-world examples and ethical challenges highlight the need for guidelines and regulations to prevent the misuse of voice cloning technology.

As the technology continues to improve, it is essential to address the concerns and challenges associated with it to ensure its safe and responsible development and use.

Voice cloning technology is a rapidly developing field that uses artificial intelligence and deep learning to replicate human voices, making it incredibly realistic and accessible.

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Content: Aug 31, 2022

Now, software can replicate your boss’s voice and tell you what to do

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"Deepfake" audio technology is here, and scammers are taking advantage.

If you’re listening to or have already listened to the beginning of this episode, you probably noticed that the voice introducing Kimberly Adams sounded a bit off, right?

That’s because it’s an audio “deepfake,” and it was created by Yisroel Mirsky at the Offensive AI Research Lab through a process called voice cloning.

It uses software to study a short sample of someone’s voice and create a deepfake, which in this case took only 15 seconds to generate, according to Mirsky.

It’s far from a perfect replica, but it turns out that scammers recently started to use deepfake audio for telephone scams and in some cases have succeeded.

Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams recently spoke with Kyle Alspach, a cybersecurity reporter with Protocol, about how the tech behind audio deepfakes works and how they’re being used in phone scams. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.

Kyle Alspach: The technology involves having [artificial intelligence], deep learning, and it takes an audio sample of someone’s voice. It can be as little as three seconds, and it trains itself on the way that this person sounds. And it creates a model that can then be used to replicate that person’s voice. The current way that it works is you have to use text to speech, which is just you type in a phrase, and then it speaks using the cloned voice.

Kimberly Adams: How are these audio deepfakes being used in scams?

Alspach: So they’re, at least we know, being used to target businesses at this point, especially larger businesses. Someone will call up pretending to be someone else with someone else’s voice, typically some kind of executive or someone’s boss, and ask them to transfer funds or ask them for password credentials, that kind of thing. And in some cases, they have been successful.

Adams: Do you have a sense of how common audio deepfakes are now? And where do experts in the industry see it going?

Alspach: You know, among the larger businesses, I think more and more of them are starting to see these because they’re really ripe targets for this kind of thing. But right now, I don’t think that it’s something that a lot of people are seeing, but it is the beginning of this kind of technology being used in this way.

Adams: What do cybersecurity experts suggest that regular people or businesses do to avoid falling for these deepfake audio scams?

Alspach: For business purposes, for instance, if you’re going to transfer money, you might want to add some additional steps to that process and involve someone saying some kind of challenge phrase or something like that, that everyone’s agreed on beforehand, [to] prevent that from happening. But the biggest thing is just to be aware that it might happen to you and to pay attention when someone calls you up and make sure that it actually sounds the way you would expect, and they are asking you for things that they normally would be asking you for. It’s really at this point kind of a low-tech approach to defending against this kind of thing. But really, it’s just creating the possibility in your mind of this happening. And I guess, unfortunately, you kind of have to become more skeptical now when people call you up.

You can read more of Alspach’s reporting on audio deepfakes here.

Yisroel Mirsky told us that the tech he used to generate the deepfake audio for Alspach’s article, and for our show, is “relatively old.”

Alspach also mentioned in his piece that there is an open-source voice cloning tool online that anyone — even scammers can download and potentially use.

But as we found out, getting that software to work isn’t a simple process of downloading and hitting the Install button.

Tech barriers can stop you at a number of steps in the process. Like, if you don’t know the coding language Python or if your computer isn’t powerful enough, you’ll likely be unable to use it, as our producer Daniel Shin discovered.

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

Difficult to distinguish from human voice

This technology has the potential to revolutionize various industries, including entertainment, accessibility, and education, but it also raises concerns about its misuse for scams and other malicious activities.

Title:

Content: Tech
Artificial Intelligence

AI voice clones are turbocharging scams, top FTC official warns

"We need to be vigilant early," FTC Chair Lina Khan said.
By Tim Marcin  on
FTC Chair Lina Khan warned AI is turbocharging scams. Credit: Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images

AI tools, particularly voice clones, are supercharging scams, FTC Chair Lina Khan warned.

Speaking at an AI and venture capital event on Thursday, Khan warned officials will have to be proactive to stop AI-powered fraud, Bloomberg reported.(opens in a new tab)

She noted that they are already seeing AI "turbocharge" scams, using voice clones that can copy family members in distress as an example, according to Bloomberg.

"We need to be vigilant early," Khan said, according to Bloomberg. "If anything you need to be especially vigilant on the front-end because it’s much more difficult to solve these problems after."

Voice clones have proven capable of fooling folks. A CNN report (opens in a new tab)noted that fake kidnapping calls demanding ransoms using the tech were becoming more common. Jennifer DeStefano told the outlet her story of getting a call demanding $1 million for their daughter before realizing the caller had used AI to copy her voice.

"The voice sounded just like Brie’s, the inflection, everything," she told CNN.

AI voice clones have even made popular songs featuring fake versions of real artists. Even a relatively easy-to-spot fake image of the Pentagon being attacked caused a real dip in the stock market.

"As this stuff becomes more embedded in how daily decisions are being made, I think they invite and merit a lot of scrutiny," Khan said, according to Bloomberg. "Those problems and concerns are quite urgent and I think enforcers, be it at the state level or the national level, are going to be acting."

Tim Marcin

Tim Marcin is a culture reporter at Mashable, where he writes about food, fitness, weird stuff on the internet, and, well, just about anything else. You can find him posting endlessly about Buffalo wings on Twitter at @timmarcin(opens in a new tab).

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What are some risks regarding AI voice clning?

What do cybersecurity experts believe about the use of synthesized voice?

could become a popular method of attacking banks and financial services

The development of voice cloning technology involves using text input and short voice clips, typically 3-15 seconds, to generate natural-sounding human voices similar to the original speaker.

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Speech cloning raises concerns, OpenAI again explains its text-to-speech tool
2024 / 6 / 10 9: 57: 21 Source: IT House Author: Yuanyang Editor: Yuanyang
OpenAI explained its text-to-speech tool for the second time in a few months, and again stressed that the tool is not currently widely available and may not be available in the future.
“Whether or not we end up deploying this technology at scale, it ’ s important for people around the world to understand where it ’ s going, ” OpenAI said in a statement on its website Friday.“ That ’ s why we want to explain how the model works, how we use it for research and education, and how we implement security measures around the technology. ”
At the end of last year, OpenAI shared its “voice engine ” with a small number of external users.
The engine uses text input and a 15-second clip of human voices to “generate a natural sounding human voice that is very similar to the original speaker. ”
The tool could create fake, multilingual human voices, and the company said at the time that it had chosen to preview the technology rather than launch it at scale to “enhance social resilience ” to the threat posed by“ increasingly realistic artificial intelligence-generated models. ”
As part of these efforts, OpenAI says it is actively phasing out ways to use voice recognition for bank account verification, exploring policies to protect individual voices for use in AI, educating the public about the risks of AI, and accelerating the development of technologies to track audiovisual content so users can identify whether they are interacting with real people or synthetic content.
However, despite these efforts, concerns about the technology remain.
Bruce Reed, the head of artificial intelligence for US President Joe Biden, has said that voice cloning is one of the reasons he can't sleep at night.
The Federal Trade Commission said in March that scammers were using AI technology to increase the credibility of their fraud, using voice cloning tools that make it harder for people to distinguish between AI-generated voices and human voices.
“We continue to engage with U.S. and international partners from government, media, entertainment, education, civil society, and more to ensure we incorporate their feedback in the build process, ” the company also noted, once the“ Voice Engine ” is equipped with its latest model, GPT-4o, it will also bring new threats.
The company says it is actively “conducting ‘ red team testing ’ on GPT-4o to identify and address known and unknown risks from areas such as social psychology, bias and fairness, and misinformation. ”
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What is necessary for voice cloning to work?

For instance, OpenAI's voice cloning tool can create fake multilingual human voices, and ElevenLabs' AI tool can clone voices in multiple languages with a 3-second sample clip [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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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.

What is necessary for voice cloning to work?

The technology has improved significantly over the past year, with advancements in voice cloning, such as the Tortoise program, which uses unstructured voice data to improve voice cloning.

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."

More news from World

Voice cloning technology has various applications, including entertainment, where it can be used to create realistic voiceovers for movies, games, and audiobooks.

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AI voice pioneer ElevenLabs raises $80 million
ElevenLabs broke new ground in the voice AI industry, successfully raising an impressive $80 million in a Series B round led by industry giants such as Andreessen Horowitz, former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, and renowned entrepreneur Daniel Gross.
The company has received investments from well-known companies such as Sequoia CapitalSmash CapitalSV AngelBroadLight CapitalCredo Ventures, which has raised a total of $101 million, giving it a valuation of more than $1 billion, exponentially growing and entering the Unicorn Alliance.
The previous year it was about $100 million.
CEO Mati Staniszewski laid out an ambitious fund-raising agenda, outlining aggressive product development, infrastructure expansion, team development, AI research, and plans to implement robust security measures to ensure ethical AI development.
In a letter to TechCrunch, Staniszewski said: “Our vision with this new investment is to consolidate ElevenLabs ’ leading position in global voice AI, both in pioneering research and in practical applications. ”
ElevenLabs, the brainchild of Piotr Dabkowski, a former Google machine learning engineer, and Staniszewski, a former Palantir strategist, was born out of a shared vision to improve speech cloning capabilities, fuelled by the two men ’ s experience shooting shoddy films in their respective home countries. Poland.
Since launching the beta a year ago, the company has quickly become known for its browser-based app, which cleverly synthesizes sounds and can be fine-tuned for tone, emotion and rhythm, and other sound nuances.
ElevenLabs offers a free and premium service that allows users to enter text for sound interpretation or submit speech samples for personalized speech cloning.
The company ’ s commitment to innovation extends to creating specialized voice generation for industries such as audiobooks, movie dubbing, game characters and promotions.
One of their breakthrough developments, launched last year, is the “speech-to-speech ” tool, which aims to retain the unique characteristics of the speaker ’ s voice while eliminating unwanted background noise and subtly tweaking the voiceover of film and TV content.
Going forward, ElevenLabs is about to launch an advanced voiceover studio workflow and mobile app designed to narrate web pages and text through its proprietary voice technology.
The company ’ s innovations have attracted a diverse customer base, including game developer Paradox Interactive and prominent media outlet The Washington Post.
Staniszewski proudly tells us that ElevenLab users have been generating audio content for more than a century, and now it ’ s a favorite tool for 41% of Fortune 500 employees.
The boom in AI-driven voice technology is paralleled by the iterative growth of AppMasterno-code platforms, which democratize application development for a variety of users.
As ElevenLabs continues to rise in the ranks of innovative technology companies, its trajectory gives us a glimpse of the transformative potential of AI in voice and speech.
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Eleven Labs is extending its voice cloning services for which industries?

It can also be used to enhance accessibility, such as providing digital voice creation services for people with speech problems, enabling them to create a digital voice copy.

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Technical expert talks about the danger of "falsifying" sounds: "5 minutes is enough"
22-10-2023 | 23: 00
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Noufal Tonsi, sales manager at digital voice human performance services company Acapella, said on Saturday that the digital voice creation market is developing rapidly, opening up “unlimited prospects ” for developers and content makers, but warned of“ unprecedented risks ” facing society.
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On the sidelines of GITEX 2023 in Dubai, Tonsi said that “just five minutes of pure sound recorded in someone ’ s voice is enough to create a digital version of his voice, to make it easy to make him utter any words in the same language, ” noting that“ it has become easy to use the voice of any influential or famous person to fabricate facts and spread rumors. ”
The Belgian company official added that "care must be taken in dealing with the techniques of generative artificial intelligence," noting that "voice performance professionals are at risk due to the development of digital voice generation technologies."
Tunisi stated that his company does not intend to enter the market of providing digital voice creation services to individuals, which is led largely by ElevenLabs.
He urged companies operating in this market to "adhere to an advanced level of ethical standards, to protect themselves from legal accountability on the one hand, and to prevent the dissemination of misinformation on the other."
He pointed out that "Acapella" is currently working to provide the service of simultaneous audio translation of audio clips between different languages, while maintaining the same voice and performance of the speaker.
Several major companies have entered the market for voice translation services, mainly Spotify and YouTube.
Acapella ’ s digital sounds can speak more than 30 languages, including Arabic, English, French, Turkish, Spanish and Italian, and offers a feature called Voice Smileys that provides digital sounds with the ability to express different emotions, giving a human character to manufactured sounds.
Tounsi said that Acapella has worked for 22 years to build and train its own smart models capable of delivering human performance of digital voices, to serve the goals of its customers in the marketing and promotional sectors, as well as to support people of determination who are unable to speak, to voice themselves.
He pointed out that the company's work with people of determination is the only aspect of its cooperation with individuals, explaining that the company provides the visually impaired and the blind with intelligent voice assistants through its service Infovox3, which allows the user to interact with any text appearing on his computer screen, saying that "the service reads the text aloud, and then the user can interact with his voice commands with his device."
He pointed out that "Acapella" offers its services to people with speech problems by enabling them to create a digital copy of their voice through recording audio clips with a variety of performance, so that the patient uses that copy to interact with the world naturally later.
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Additionally, voice cloning technology can be used in education, journalism, and virtual voice assistants, making it a versatile tool with limitless possibilities.

However, the technology also raises concerns about its misuse for scams, such as fake kidnapping calls, ransom demands, and fake songs with real artists.

What are some risks regarding AI voice clning?

According to the FTC Chair, AI voice clones can turbocharge scams, and 47% of Indian phone users have experienced AI voice scams, the highest in the world [10].

The legal implications of voice cloning technology are still evolving, with concerns about copyright violation and intellectual property.

In the United States, copyright law has not caught up with generative AI challenges, and nobody owns copyrights on AI-generated works due to lack of human authorship.

Title:

Content: Generative AI and US copyright law are on a collision course

The way in which US copyright law interacts with the burgeoning field of generative AI remains nebulous, and could cause problems for generative AI training that will come to a head in court cases.

US copyright law has yet to catch up to the numerous challenges posed by the wildfire adoption of generative AI, and the first real movement on major legal questions is likely to come from upcoming trials.

One of those key questions is the copyright status of works generated by artificial intelligence — for example, whether a Midjourney image that the system generated in response to a user prompt is protected by copyright, and, if so, who owns that copyright.

No one owns copyrights on AI-generated work

The answer, for the moment, is that nobody owns the copyright on AI-generated works, because nobody can. The US Copyright Office has taken the position that human authorship is required for copyright to exist on a work, and that no such authorship exists in the case of AI-created writing or images — neither the creator of the AI nor the provider of the prompt used to generate a particular work “owns” that output.

That’s unlikely to change due to legislation or administrative action in the near future, according to Ron Lazebnik, clinical associate professor at Fordham University School of Law. Litigation, however, could challenge that standard, he noted.

“Either someone tries to register something with the copyright office, who says no, and then they sue challenging that denial, or alternatively, someone who may have used an AI but never let the copyright office know that, they become the plaintiff,” Lazebnik said. “Beyond that, it’s not clear on how we would be able to get a court to say whether or not an AI generated work is attributed to the person who prompted the AI.”

It's within the Copyright Office’s purview to change that rule, according to Philippa Loengard, executive director of the Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts at Columbia Law School — but she warned that such action remains unlikely.

“My guess is that AI regulation won’t start with copyright,” she said. “I think, and I could be wrong, that there are so many issues being discussed in the realm of AI that I’m not sure that changing the requirements of human authorship is going to be of paramount importance.”

The larger issue for AI in terms of copyright law is likely to be the concept of fair use, particularly as it applies to the training data used to create the large language models (LLMs) underpinning generative AI.

Fair use, in brief, is a defense to copyright claims written into federal law. The four factors that courts have to consider when deciding whether a particular use of copyright material without permission is “fair use,” are the character and purpose of the use (educational or other not-for-profit use is much more likely to be deemed fair than commercial use), the nature of the original work, the amount of the original work used, and the market effect on the original work.

Copyright a stumbling block for AI model training

Given those factors, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the lawsuits against companies like OpenAI have already begun. Most notably, a group of authors that includes comedian and writer Sarah Silverman sued OpenAI and Meta in July over the company’s use of their books to train ChatGPT.

The core issue in that lawsuit is the use of a data set called “BookCorpus,” which, the plaintiffs say, contained their copyright material. OpenAI and Meta are likely to argue that the market effect on Silverman’s and others works is negligible, and that the “character and purpose” of the use is different than that which prompted the writing of the books in the first place, while the plaintiffs are likely to highlight the for-profit nature of Meta and OpenAI’s use, as well as the use of entire works in training data.

Precedent, however, may be on the AI companies’ side — the Google Books case, which was a fair use action brought by the Author’s Guild of America against Google’s mass book digitization project in 2005. The case’s history is complicated, including appeals went on for a decade, and was ultimately settled in Google’s favor.

Whether that’s likely to be predictive, however, is debatable, according to Loengard, and much could depend on a judge’s willingness to challenge a large, profitable industry.

“By the time it ended, Google Books had become a tool of many researchers,” she said. “So there’s this idea that the cat’s out of the bag — and of course, the court wouldn’t say this out loud, and I’m not saying this is what they did, but they could look at it and say that once something has entered mainstream commerce that it’s harder to reel it back in and regulate it.”

Obviously derivative works could be another copyright battleground for the AI industry, given that the technology has already been used to produce convincing imitations of popular singers and songwriters.  The right of publicity — a different legal concept covering the rights to a person’s name, image and likeness, could become a cause of action for the performance itself — i.e., the sound of Taylor Swift’s voice. But copyright could still become an issue if the underlying song is sufficiently similar to one written by Swift.

“If it’s a song close to what those artists might be expecting to produce, [copyright law could be implicated], in theory, depending on how close AI comes to writing a song that resembles one that that artist could write,” said Lazebnik.

The unsettled state of play around AI and copyright law is not simply a US phenomenon, although most countries have yet to pass detailed legislation around it. The EU’s AI Act, as well as frameworks for more general AI regulation passed by the US and China, do not change the confused state of play around copyright issues. One country that has done so is Japan, which clarified in June that the use of copyright works for AI training is permitted, even for commercial purposes.

But active regulation of these issues may still be far off in the US, according to the experts.

“The legislature hasn’t created a new carve-out in copyright in quite some time,” said Lazebnik. “If they think fair use isn’t sufficient and that it’s something they want to encourage, they might amend our laws, but at the moment, they would have to see an appellate court saying ‘no, this isn’t fair use.’”

“[Congress] has no pending legislation at all,” noted Loengard. “Everyone is studying this, nobody has come to any conclusions about it.”

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The use of AI-generated audio without permission or compensation violates copyright laws and artist compensation, and lawmakers should prioritize creator interests in policy making.

Title:

Content: EXCLUSIVE - Recording exec's warning to top Republican on rise of AI: Expert tells Marsha Blackburn 'fake music' is illegal and may destroy the livelihoods of musicians and artists

  • Chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America Mitch Glazier spoke with Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., on her 'Unmuted' podcast
  • AI programs are creating new content using 'voice cloning' based off an already-established artist's work without their permission and without compensation

Artificial Intelligence (AI) created 'fake music' using 'voice cloning' technology is beginning to infiltrate the recording industry, negatively impacting artist compensation and poising other challenges to copyright laws, according to a top recording executive.

Chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America Mitch Glazier spoke with Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., on her 'Unmuted' podcast and outlined a number of issues poised by AI-generated programs.

The clip, first obtained by DailyMail.com, the pair discussed challenges facing the music industry due to the rise of AI programs creating new content using 'voice cloning' based off an already-established artist's work.

Glazier, who has worked for over 20 years on the music industry's transition to streaming services, told Blackburn it is a 'double whammy' that AI programs are able to produce 'fake music' and also steal an artist's unique voice without proper compensation.

Chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America Mitch Glazier spoke with Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., on her 'Unmuted' podcast

'The artist and their partners should and do own their work. That's the entire constitutional premise that we've all fought for for so long - that this is the sweat of your brow, this is your genius,' Glazier said. 'You get to own this you get to create it, you get to decide who gets to use it and how and when it comes to your voice and your image and your likeness.'

He called it extremely 'personal' that someone can basically steal your essence and put your voice on a song 'you never meant to record' or that doesn't reflect your own experience.

'It can be putting it on something that you definitely wouldn't want to say,' he added.

'And so the the ability of these AI platforms to produce what I would call 'fake music' or inauthentic music at the rate that they do so and then to steal an artists voice to do it. It's almost like a double whammy,' continued Glazier.

Blackburn agreed, saying there are a 'sequence of problems' that are stemming from the unauthorized replication of work, which goes into copyright law issues.

The CEO explained how copyright laws have been violated through the use of AI technologies.

'The AI platform is taking an exact copy - under law we call it a 'reproduction' - which means that a rights been violated and you deserve to be compensated for it,' Glazier told Blackburn.

He said that when making an exact copy, the creator has an 'obligation' to get a license for the use, as YouTube and Spotify do - which is a partnership so both sides thrive.

'You're not supposed to break the law and ask questions later, which is what's happening,' he continued.

Glazier has praised the work of the Human Artistry Campaign, which put together 'principles for AI' that he says will help protect the work of 'human creators.'

He added that not all AI technologies are bad, and often help propel and supplement creative music work.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., on her 'Unmuted' podcast outlined a number of issues poised by AI-generated programs

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this month, Blackburn questioned OpenAI CEO Sam Altman about some of the issues facing the music industry

But there are 'basic rules' that need to be followed to ensure artists get the value they are deserved.

'As AI technologies advance, we need basic rules of the road to ensure that artists, creators, performers, and their works are respected and valued,' he tweeted.

The principles note that technology has long 'empowered' human expression and will continue to do so.

It also urges lawmakers to not back any copyright exemptions that might allow AI developers to 'exploit' artists and the interests of creators should be central in any future policy making processes.

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this month, Blackburn questioned OpenAI CEO Sam Altman about some of the issues facing the music industry.

Blackburn pressed Altman during the hearing to commit to not training 'AI models on artists' and songwriters' copyrighted works, or use their voices and their likenesses without first receiving their consent.'

Altman did not directly commit to Blackburn's request.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., opened the hearing by playing an AI-generation of his own voice.

Recording exec warns top Republican on issues stemming from rise of AI and 'fake music'

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The Federal Trade Commission has adopted a Declaratory Ruling on AI-generated voices under TCPA, which prohibits the use of artificial voices in telemarketing without prior express written consent from consumers.

Title:

Content: Moving at rapid speed, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has just announced its unanimous adoption of a new Declaratory Ruling finding that voice calls using artificial intelligence (AI)-generated voices fall under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

The ruling takes effect immediately and gives state attorneys general powerful new tools to go after voice cloning scams. Under FCC rules, telemarketers that use robocalls subject to the TCPA are required to obtain prior express written consent from the consumer unless an exemption applies. The TCPA has always prohibited the use of both prerecorded and artificial voices but advances in AI-generated voices have prompted the FCC to specifically address their use.

In recent years, scammers and other parties have begun using AI to create fake and even "cloned" artificial voices, including those of celebrities, politicians, and even a call recipient's family member. In this election season, there has been increasing concern about the use of voice clones to engage in voter suppression schemes.

Concerned about the potential malevolent uses of these AI-generated voice calls, the FCC issued a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) in November on the topic of "Implications of Artificial Intelligence Technologies on Protecting Consumers from Unwanted Robocalls and Robotexts." In the NOI, the FCC asked questions regarding the use of "AI-influenced" technologies in robocalling. A coalition of 26 state attorneys general, as well as a telecommunication carrier trade group, strongly urged the FCC to take action to give the attorneys general clear authority to act against AI-generated robocall violators.

The FCC now has made clear that the use of voice cloning in telephone calls and texts falls within the FCC's statutory authority under the TCPA. A major intent of the ruling is to communicate that the TCPA "does not allow for any carve-out of technologies that purport to provide the equivalent of a live agent, thus preventing unscrupulous businesses from attempting to exploit any perceived ambiguity in our TCPA rules."

As FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel explained, "with this Declaratory Ruling, we will have another tool to go after voice cloning scams and get this junk off the line."

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

The FCC has also issued a Notice of Inquiry on AI-generated voice calls, and 26 state attorneys general have urged the FCC to take action against AI-generated robocall violators.

Real-world examples of voice cloning technology include China Media Group's launch of its first AI-dubbed English documentary, which enhances global reach and understanding.

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
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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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ElevenLabs has raised $80 million for voice AI development and has been valued at over $1 billion after funding.

The company's voice cloning software has gone viral, and it has been used by 41% of Fortune 500 employees for audio content.

However, the use of voice cloning technology also raises ethical challenges, such as the need for guidelines and regulations to prevent its misuse.

OpenAI has apologized for using a voice similar to Scarlett Johansson's in its chatbot, highlighting the need for consent and respect for creators' rights.

ElevenLabs has committed to respecting creators' rights and protecting intellectual property, and Acapella has urged companies to adhere to ethical standards to prevent legal accountability [9].

In conclusion, voice cloning technology is a rapidly developing field with significant potential and concerns.

While it can revolutionize various industries, it also raises concerns about its misuse for scams and other malicious activities.

The legal implications of voice cloning technology are still evolving, and lawmakers should prioritize creator interests in policy making.

Real-world examples and ethical challenges highlight the need for guidelines and regulations to prevent the misuse of voice cloning technology.

What are some risks regarding AI voice clning?

As the technology continues to improve, it is essential to address the concerns and challenges associated with it to ensure its safe and responsible development and use.


President Javier Milei has introduced several key policies in Argentina, including economic reforms aimed at slashing state spending and reducing the fiscal deficit.

He plans to introduce a bill to penalize deficit financing by issuing money and devalue the peso by about half upon taking office.

Milei has also proposed a comprehensive reform plan to privatize state-owned entities and delegate power to the executive branch for one year.

His economic reforms aim to change Argentina's economic model, which has been plagued by high inflation, currently standing at 138 percent [2] and 211 percent annually.

Milei has enacted austerity measures, deregulated industries, and rolled back worker protections and union-provided health care.

He has also sent a bill to Congress to privatize state-run enterprises and plans to abolish ten government ministries.

Milei's approach is part of a broader trend of neoliberal populism, and his government has been described as Argentina's last hope for improvement.

The president's economic reform plan has sparked violence and clashes outside parliament, with left-wing parties and trade unions opposing the reforms.

Milei has declared an economic emergency, cut pensions and labor rights, and eliminated subsidies for fuel and transportation.

Despite facing political isolation and opposition, Milei remains committed to his reform agenda, which includes deregulation, privatization, and a unified exchange rate.

President Javier Milei has introduced several key policies in Argentina, including economic reforms aimed at slashing state spending and reducing the fiscal deficit.

Title:

Content: Argentine President Pledges Economic Reform in a Passionate Speech to Congress | Deutsche Welle Introduces Germany | DW | 02.03.2024
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The political climate of the times
Argentine President vows to push for economic reform
In a speech to the National Assembly on Friday, Argentina's new president, Miguel Millay, vowed to continue to push for economic reform, whether or not he has the support of the National Assembly.
He said that if the economic model is not transformed, "Argentina has no future."
Milley told lawmakers he would continue to push through reforms with or without congressional support.
Argentina ’ s new liberal president, Javier Milei, delivered a passionate speech to Congress on Friday (March 1).
He said he "will continue to push" for economic reform.
The Argentine leader, who describes himself as an "anarcho-capitalist," promised to slash state spending and reduce the government's fiscal deficit.
“We ’ re going to completely change this country. ”
Millet told lawmakers that he would continue to push ahead with reforms, whether or not he had the support of Congress.
He said "we will not back down, we will continue to move forward...
Whether it is through laws, presidential decrees or amending regulations, "he added," We will change this country forever...
with or without the support of political leaders, with or without all the legal resources of the executive branch ".
"I ask for patience and trust... It will take a while for us to see the results of the economic restructuring and the reforms that are being implemented," he added.
If the economic model does not change, "Argentina has no future"
Millay said he would introduce a bill that would penalize anyone — including the president — who financed the deficit by issuing additional money.
When he takes office, Mile will devalue the peso by about half.
"If we don't fundamentally change the economic model, then Argentina has no future," he said.
How will Argentina choose between China and the EU?
Milley's speech was repeatedly interrupted by cheers from supporters, who told Congress they would face "another animal" if they opposed his reform efforts.
Miley's Shock Therapy
After taking office in December last year, Millet issued decrees repealing or amending hundreds of laws aimed at curtailing the power of trade unions and deregulating state interference in the economy.
However, his claims met with resistance, and the court issued a ruling halting these measures.
Miller proposed a comprehensive reform plan, seeking to privatize state-owned entities and weaken labor protection.
The bill was voted down by lawmakers last month.
It includes the power to delegate to the executive branch for one year and the power to pass laws by decree on the basis of "economic emergencies".
Millet ’ s shock economic measures boosted the market, but sparked nationwide protests and strong opposition from labor unions.
Trade unions say the reforms will hurt the poor.
Despite his harsh words to lawmakers, the Argentine president struck a more conciliatory tone in his interactions with governors, proposing a 10-point “social contract ” agreed by May 25 that includes a“ rediscussion ” of the current tax distribution between the federal government and provincial governors.
Mire and the provincial governors have also been at loggerheads over the issue of funding cuts.
This week, when the governor threatened to cut off energy supplies to the rest of Argentina due to a funding dispute, the dispute heated up.
(Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse)
© 2024 Deutsche Welle Copyright Notice: All content in this article is protected by copyright law and may not be used without special permission from Deutsche Welle.
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suspended 366 decrees to ease economic controls and reduce spending.

What issue did Milei want to address without printing money?

He plans to introduce a bill to penalize deficit financing by issuing money and devalue the peso by about half upon taking office.

What economic issue did Milei want to address?

Milei has also proposed a comprehensive reform plan to privatize state-owned entities and delegate power to the executive branch for one year.

His economic reforms aim to change Argentina's economic model, which has been plagued by high inflation, currently standing at 138 percent [2] and 211 percent annually.

Title:

Content: Argentina’s New Libertarian President, Javier Milei, Is on a Collision Course With His Country’s Powerful Labor Unions

Unions have promised a ‘total strike’ across the country Wednesday to protest Mr. Milei’s efforts to rein in a once-powerful central government and put Argentina on a path to prosperity.

Argentina’s new Libertarian president, Javier Milei, is on a collision course with his country’s powerful labor unions, a conflict that will come to a head Wednesday when the unions have promised a nationwide “total strike” to protest austerity measures enacted by Mr. Milei since he took office last month.

Union leaders speaking to the Financial Times say they expect as many as 200,000 people to take to the streets of Buenos Aires because the new president is “breaking the social contract” by passing an emergency decree that rolled back worker protections, deregulated many industries and began allowing employees to opt out of union-provided health care.

Around 40 percent of the country’s 13 million workers belong to labor unions that have for decades enjoyed considerable political clout under successive governments headed by leaders of the Peronist movement launched by strongman Juan Peron in the 1950s. That power evaporated overnight when Mr. Milei moved into the Casa Rosada, Argentina’s equivalent of the White House, on December 10.

The leader of Argentina’s Construction Workers Union, Gerardo Martínez, told the Financial Times that he hopes the strike —the earliest ever faced by a newly elected president — will force Mr. Milei to roll back some of his reforms and come to the bargaining table with the unions.

“We are aware that inflation [needs to come down.] We are embarrassed to have a country with this level of poverty,” Mr. Martínez said. “But we can’t accept that the cost of reaching economic stability falls solely on the backs of workers and the middle class.”

The tousle-headed Mr. Milei, who famously brandished a chainsaw during the campaign while promising to slash government spending and eliminate entire departments, has made good on some of those promises early in his tenure. He has slashed energy and transport subsidies and sent a bill to Congress that would privatize many of Argentina’s poorly managed state-run enterprises.

Mr. Milei already has backtracked on other issues, however, in an effort to secure the support of moderates in Congress, including taking off the table a plan to privatize the state-run oil giant, YPF.

While perhaps not exactly enamored by some of his fellow countrymen, Mr. Milei has become the darling of international free-marketeers since his full-throated defense of capitalism and the power of entrepreneurship to lift countries out of poverty during the annual World Economic Forum at Davos last week.

In a speech that has since been translated into dozens of languages, Mr. Milei stunned the normally left-leaning audience at Davos by blaming the decades of economic malaise that has plagued Argentina on the “collectivist” policies of his predecessors. Government, he said, is not the solution to what ails societies. Government is the problem, he said.

“The case of Argentina is an empirical demonstration that no matter how rich you may be, how much you may have in terms of natural resources, how skilled your population may be, how educated, or how many bars of gold you may have in the central bank — if measures are adopted that hinder the free functioning of markets, competition, price systems, trade and ownership of private property, the only possible fate is poverty,” he said.

As much as 40 percent of Argentina’s population is described as living in poverty, and inflation is currently running at a rate of 211 percent annually, the highest rate in 32 years. In Latin America, only Venezuela faces worse inflation than Argentina.

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As of 2024, what are the statistics regarding poverty?

annual inflation rate of 211% is highest in 32 years

What economic issue did Milei want to address?

Milei has enacted austerity measures, deregulated industries, and rolled back worker protections and union-provided health care.

How will Milei's reforms impact workers?

What does Milei promote in terms of healthcare and education?

Individuals to pay for their own services

He has also sent a bill to Congress to privatize state-run enterprises and plans to abolish ten government ministries.

Title:

Content: Argentina sees the light with Maverick Javier Milei – Ivo Vegter

In a surprising turn, libertarian firebrand Javier Milei secured Argentina’s presidency after a second-round victory against his left-wing rival. Vowing to end decades of socialist mismanagement, Milei, an outspoken economist, faces challenges in implementing radical reforms, including abolishing ministries and dollarising the economy. While hailed as the world’s first libertarian president, Milei’s uphill battle involves legislative opposition and managing economic pain amid promises of a freer, market-oriented Argentina. Skepticism remains, awaiting the true impact of his ambitious plans in a nation grappling with deep-rooted economic struggles.

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Argentinians see the light

By Ivo Vegter*

It took a second round of voting, but the libertarian Javier Milei has defeated his Peronist rival to become president of Argentina.

A month ago, Javier Milei unexpectedly lost the first round of the Argentinian general election to his left-wing Peronist rival, Sergio Massa, after the latter had cynically promised zero taxes as a way to bribe voters.

In my column on the lessons South Africa could draw from that election, I said: ‘Let’s hope Argentinians see the light before Massa and Milei face off in the run-off election.’

Happily, they did see the light.

After decades of economic malaise under a government that for most of the last 30 years has been socialist, corrupt, wasteful and incompetent, leaving Argentina eighth from last in the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World Report 2023, they elected Milei, a libertarian firebrand, in the biggest landslide since Juan Perón’s election in 1973.

Milei becomes the first libertarian president, not only of Argentina, but in the world. The closest precedent that comes to mind is that of Calvin Coolidge, the small-government conservative president during the Roaring Twenties in the US, but Milei is far more radical than that.

‘“oday the reconstruction of Argentina begins’, he said, after winning 56% of the vote in the head-to-head race. That was also his first lie as president-elect, since he doesn’t actually take office until 10 December, but we’ll let that slide.

Radical

To describe Milei as radical would be putting it mildly. He has described the country’s ruling elite as thieves and the government as ‘a criminal organisation’. He has promised to abolish ten of the government’s 18 ministries. He said he would do away with the central bank and dollarise the Argentinian economy.

‘The model of decadence has come to an end’, he told his supporters. ‘There’s no going back. We have monumental problems ahead. Inflation, lack of work, and poverty’.

Milei is an accomplished economist, and largely follows the Austrian School of individualist free-market economics. He has variously described himself as an anarcho-capitalist and a minarchist (an anarchist who accepts the legitimacy of a small government dedicated to protecting life, liberty and property).

He has been extraordinarily outspoken on the evils of socialism and statism, and how they turned Argentina from a once-wealthy world power into an over-indebted, poverty-stricken, underdeveloped basket case.

Mainstream media

The mainstream media, with its largely left-leaning bias, has compared Milei to former presidents Donald Trump of the US and Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil.

‘Argentina set for sharp right turn as Trump-like radical wins presidency’, trumpeted the Washington Post

‘Argentina Elects Javier Milei in Victory for Far Right’ was the headline in the New York Times, which added: ‘Argentina’s next president is a libertarian economist whose brash style and embrace of conspiracy theories has parallels with those of Donald J. Trump.’

The ‘embrace of conspiracy theories’ is a particularly vicious jab. Readers would have to follow a link to find an explanation, and it turns out that the Times only referred to Milei’s allegations of polling irregularities, which have not been tested.

It is entirely plausible that Argentina’s electoral system is less secure than that of the United States, and that the incumbents – who went as far as abolishing taxes in order to engineer a win – might have been involved in some electoral skulduggery.

Allegations of election fraud are very common on all sides of the political spectrum, and do not, in and of themselves, rise to the level of the debunked claims of Trump, and his attempt to derail the orderly election of his rival.

Authoritarians

More importantly, both Bolsonaro and Trump are alt-right populists. They are moral authoritarians – not liberals – and appeal to collectivist – not individualist – principles such as nationalism and protectionism. They have often, rightly, been described as fascist, which is just as antithetical to libertarians as is left-wing socialism.

That both former presidents expressed their support for Milei has a lot more to do with shared anti-socialist positions than any real congruence in their political philosophy.

Milei has himself rejected the right-wing label, and indeed, his classical liberalism (for which ‘libertarian’ in the American sense is a synonym) does not yield to a simplistic left-right analysis. Rather, it falls on the liberal end of an authoritarian-liberal scale, and on the progressive end of a conservative-progressive scale.

Sour-grape-ish

Milei does have some views that are questionable, or traditionally associated with the conservative right, such as his anti-abortion stance and his rejection of climate alarmism.

Neither define him, however, and both are issues on which libertarians can and do disagree.

By similar logic, Milei’s promise not to dismantle Argentina’s extensive social welfare programmes does not make him some sort of left-winger.

In focusing on incidental agreements between Milei and leaders like Trump and Bolsonaro, and ignoring the fundamental philosophical differences between the former’s individualist, free-market, small-government ideas and the authoritarianism, nationalism, populism and protectionism of the latter, the media does both Milei and their readers a great disservice.

That a politician does not perfectly reflect all one’s personal political or moral views is in any case far less of a concern when that very politician proposes as far as possible to keep government out of people’s personal affairs and to leave most of the world’s problems to the private sector.

‘When your response to everything that is wrong with the world is to say, “There ought to be a law,” you are saying that you hold freedom very cheap’, said Thomas Sowell.

Moreover, it seems extraordinarily petty and sour-grape-ish to complain about a few differences of opinion with a candidate who promises radical change in a country that is mired in economic crisis, thanks to the policies of its incumbent rulers.

Music to the ears

Sniping from the mainstream press aside, the rise of a truly libertarian president in one of the world’s most economically unfree countries should be music to a classical liberal’s ears.

Who doesn’t want to radically slash the size of government? Who doesn’t question the inflationary monetary policy of highly indebted countries? Who doesn’t want to see free enterprise flourish, and witness the departure of a government that strangles business with red tape and taxes, and tries to pick winners by throwing subsidies at favoured companies?

On the face of it, this should be an excellent experiment to show whether the libertarian prescriptions for government do, indeed, produce a better outcome than the socialist quagmire in which Argentina has been stuck for so long.

Pain and gain

Practically speaking, however, there are reasons to remain skeptical.

First, we’ve only seen Milei’s talk, and not his walk.

Second, making drastic changes in the structure of a country’s government and economy, as Milei proposes, will be painful.

It is arguable that the short-term pain is justified by the long-term gain, but electorates are rarely forgiving to those who inflict necessary pain. Witness Margaret Thatcher, who saved Britain from the socialist economic malaise of the 1970s, but remains hated to this day by those who bore the brunt of her reforms.

Dollarising an economy does not produce immediate results, for example. It can take years before the stabilising effect of dollarisation filters through to low inflation rates. It can, however, immediately harm people and even increase poverty levels, depending on the exchange rate at which existing deposits are converted.

Drastically reducing the size of government will also face much immediate opposition, especially from civil servants who stand to lose their jobs.

Privatising healthcare, education or other government functions is also fraught with transition difficulties. Much depends on exactly how such privatisation is carried out. It can fail, and even if the eventual outcome is a success, it could cause years of disruptions and dissatisfaction.

Then there are the entrenched patronage networks of the incumbent socialist government, who will be highly upset – and fight back vigorously – when the taps of corrupt fiscal spending get turned off.

Finally, few voters have the patience to wait five or ten years for radical free-market reforms to have a positive impact, and Argentina’s president only serves a four-year term before facing the electorate again.

Legislative opposition

A further obstacle to Milei’s reforms is that he will not be the philosopher-king of every libertarian’s dreams. He will not be a dictator.

He will simply be the head of the executive in a constitutional parliamentary democracy, with strictly circumscribed powers.

And the elections did not result in a similar landslide in the legislature.

Argentina has a 72-seat Senate, or upper house, and a 257-seat Chamber of Deputies, or lower house. Together, they make up the Argentinian National Congress.

In both houses, Milei’s libertarian coalition, Liberty Advances (La Libertad Avanza, or LLA) took more seats from the conservative coalition, Together for Change (Juntos por el Cambio, or JxC), than from the socialist Peronista coalition, Union for the Homeland (Unión por la Patria, or UxP).

In the Senate, this leaves the Peronistas as the largest coalition, with 32 seats. It would need 37 seats to command an outright majority. The conservative coalition, JxC, retains only 27 seats. As the third-largest party in the Senate, Milei’s LLA only has six seats, which even in coalition with the conservatives is not enough for an outright majority.

In the lower house, the picture is similar. UxP has 104 out of 257 seats, JxC has 93, and LLA has 38. The only difference is that here, a JxC and LLA coalition can command a simple majority.

This leaves Milei at the mercy first of the conservatives, who would welcome market-oriented reforms and a departure from socialism, but by their very nature would be reluctant to endorse Milei’s more radical, disruptive proposals. Once Milei has cleared that hurdle, he needs to gather a majority in the upper house, which will be even harder.

Argentina is also heavily indebted, including to the International Monetary Fund, and creditors are likely to have a say in how the country is run. Anything that scares them will raise the cost of credit, which Argentina can ill afford.

Wait and see

Once the initial euphoria of seeing a true libertarian in power has cleared, then, we are left with the sobering realisation that Milei may not be able to achieve anywhere near as much as he has promised.

Turning failing countries around is not for the faint-hearted, and it always comes with social upheaval and economic pain.

Even if Milei gets the good ship Argentina pointed in the right direction again, the prevailing winds and currents may still dash it – and its captain – upon the rocks.

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*Ivo Vegter is a freelance journalist, columnist and speaker who loves debunking myths and misconceptions, and addresses topics from the perspective of individual liberty and free markets.

This article was first published by Daily Friend and is republished with permission

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Milei's approach is part of a broader trend of neoliberal populism, and his government has been described as Argentina's last hope for improvement.

Title:

Content: Javier Milei against democracy

Argentines must be patient since Javier Milei can only rely on them, not on all those supposed representatives of the people.

The Argentine president suffered a setback again after the Senate rejected the mega-decree to deregulate the country. However, for the package aimed at removing the suffocating state bureaucracy to be effectively rejected, it would also have to be rejected by the Chamber of Deputies.

As expected, the libertarian targeted the senators who voted against the decree, who were not only Peronists of various currents but also some radicals.

"Let the political class decide which side of history they want to be on," said the president. He added that it is an attempt to undermine the so-called May Pact, an agreement that Javier Milei seeks to reach with the governors of the provinces and the mayor of the city of Buenos Aires so that economic freedom reigns in Argentina instead of socialism, which has destroyed the country's economy and isolated it from the world.

Milei knew that rectifying the economy would not be a walk in the park since, although he is president, his party does not have a governor, a mayor, or a majority in any chamber. This is all amid a tough but necessary adjustment to settle the country's accounts and allow it to grow again. Therefore, if it had not been for the support of the citizens, it would surely have fallen by now.

The president, a complete outsider, must have a "political waist" to reach consensus. That is, he must enter the thick, contaminated and cumbersome mud of Argentine democracy in order to implement his plan.

But who makes up this democracy that they ask so much to respect? With whom do they ask you to reach a consensus? Well, with the same ones who have trampled on the constitution, the forms, the division of powers, etc. Those who went for everything without respecting absolutely anything today whiningly ask to be taken into account when making decisions. However, if any of the measures are effectively unconstitutional, it is not something that a legislator should decide since that is what the Supreme Court is for, right?

Javier Milei has to fight against all who make up this democracy, go through the impassable swamp that the Argentine bureaucracy represents, and that many need him to continue, even if that means hyperinflation, misery, unemployment, crime, etc. We could say that the ideal slogan for socialism would be "the worse, the better." In this way, they have the perfect excuse to intervene in the economy and in the lives of everyone in order to maintain the power and business of politics. That is, they want a country of militants, not workers. A country of officials who "love" the poor but not enough to lift them out of poverty. A country where resentment is more important than self-improvement,  where restrictions are more important than freedom and crime is justified and success demonized.

In the government, there is now an honest man who makes mistakes, whose ways are, at times, questionable, but who sincerely wants to fix the country. Who is a great economist and was able to predict with impressive success all the disasters that were coming to Argentina in previous administrations. Who has enough courage to confront the interventionist dinosaurs who seek to repeat failure, using democracy or the constitution as an excuse when it suits them, despite the fact that the majority of the supposed representatives of the people are the same ones who stand in the way of the president carrying out the changes that the majority of Argentines voted for. What democracy are they talking about?

Javier Milei, with his mistakes and successes, is on the side of the free world at a global level. He is cleansing the State of wasteful militants, reducing spending and stopping emissions. He is trying to repeal laws that have been resounding failures while being mercilessly attacked by the press, by opposition politicians who are actually coup plotters, by artists and leftist militants who only seek to continue parasitizing.

Argentines must understand that if the economic improvement takes longer than desired, it is because the dinosaurs that make up this democracy are muddying the playing field, so progress cannot be made, and they have to go back.

Argentines must be patient since Milei can only rely on them, not on all those supposed representatives of the people. The solution may take a while, but don't let it fail. This government is the last hope for Argentina. Do not miss such an opportunity, which may occur only once in history.

The president's economic reform plan has sparked violence and clashes outside parliament, with left-wing parties and trade unions opposing the reforms.

Title:

Content: International
2024-06-13 16: 06: 58
Argentine parliament passes economic reform plan, sparks violence
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Argentina ’ s President Javier Milei ’ s proposed economic reforms, which were passed by a narrow margin in Congress, have sparked clashes outside the parliament, with protesters saying the reforms hurt millions of Argentines and local media describing the scene as a “battlefield. ”
Millet, who was elected president last year, is a right-wing economist in Argentina who was elected president at a time of severe economic distress.
Argentina ’ s annual inflation is close to 300%, leaving more than half of Argentines in poverty.
Among the reforms proposed by Millet are declaring the country into an economic emergency, cutting pensions and diluting labor rights.
Left-wing political parties, trade unions, and social organizations opposed it.
The bill was tied with 36 votes in favor and 36 against, but the Speaker of the House, Vice President Victoria Villarruel, voted in favor.
“For all Argentines who are suffering, waiting and don ’ t want to see their children leaving their country, my vote is decisive.
The motion will be considered on a case-by-case basis and is expected to be passed on Thursday (13), after which it will be returned to the next House for final implementation.
The president said protesters were trying to stage a coup.
However, demonstrators outside the parliament shouted "the country is not sold, it is to be protected", and said: "Why does the head of state hate his own country?" According to local media, the local "battlefield", demonstrators threw gasoline bombs and stones at riot police officers, and some observers and opposition lawmakers said that about 10 people needed medical treatment at the scene of the demonstration, including at least five anti-opposition lawmakers.
Argentine police said at least 20 officers were injured and 15 were arrested.
Argentina ’ s presidential office issued a statement thanking the defense forces and describing the demonstrators as “terrorists trying to launch a coup. ”
“We are going to change Argentina and make it the freest country in the world, ” he said. After he came to power, he cut cabinet posts in half and cut 50,000 civil servants, halted new public works contracts and eliminated subsidies for fuel and transportation.
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Milei has declared an economic emergency, cut pensions and labor rights, and eliminated subsidies for fuel and transportation.

How will Milei's reforms impact workers?

Despite facing political isolation and opposition, Milei remains committed to his reform agenda, which includes deregulation, privatization, and a unified exchange rate.

Title:

Content: Milei Experiment

In the tangled web of Argentine politics and economics, one figure has emerged as both a lightning rod for controversy and a beacon of hope ~ President Javier Milei.

In the tangled web of Argentine politics and economics, one figure has emerged as both a lightning rod for controversy and a beacon of hope ~ President Javier Milei. His first 100 days in office have been marked by a whirlwind of fiscal manoeuvres, bold policy shifts, and commitment to economic reform. But as Argentina teeters on the edge of uncertainty, Mr Milei’s ambitious agenda raises questions even it offers solutions. At the heart of Mr Milei’s strategy lies a radical departure from conventional wisdom.

Brandishing a chainsaw as a symbol of fiscal austerity, he has pledged to slash spending and achieve a budget surplus, a feat unheard of in a country plagued by decades of fiscal mismanagement. His unorthodox approach has garnered both praise and scepticism, as Argentines grapple with the harsh realities of rising poverty and economic contraction. The cornerstone of Mr Milei’s economic vision is the elimination of money-printing and the pursuit of a unified exchange rate. By devaluing the peso and cutting interest rates, he aims to rein in inflation and restore confidence in the economy.

Yet the path to stability is fraught with pitfalls, as the spectre of recession looms large and investors remain wary of the government’s opaque monetary policies. While Mr Milei’s commitment to reform is commendable, his political isolation poses a significant obstacle to meaningful change. With little support in the Argentine Congress and a fragmented coalition, he faces an uphill battle. The recent defeat of a sprawling omnibus bill highlights the challenges ahead, as competing interests and entrenched political factions threaten to derail Mr Milei’s ambitions. Moreover, the uncertainty surrounding Argentina’s future monetary regime adds another layer of complexity to the equation. Will Mr Milei pivot towards dollarization or pursue a more gradual approach to currency reform? The lack of clarity on this front only serves to fuel investor anxieties and exacerbate economic volatility. Amidst these challenges, Mr Milei’s fate hangs in the balance. How much economic pain can Argentines endure before turning on their unconventional leader? And can Mr Milei muster the political support needed to navigate the treacherous waters of Argentine politics?

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In the end, the trajectory of Mr Milei’s presidency hinges on the delicate balance between economic resilience and political manoeuvring. Should he manage to maintain public support and secure crucial alliances, Mr Milei could emerge as a formidable force in next year’s mid-term elections. However, any slip in popularity could spell disaster for his ambitious agenda, opening the door for his adversaries to dismantle his presidency. Whether Mr Milei’s gamble will pay off remains to be seen. But one thing is certain. In a country accustomed to political upheaval and economic turmoil, the journey towards reform is bound to be fraught with uncertainty and adversity. Only time will tell whether Mr Milei’s vision for Argentina’s future will lead to prosperity or further hardship

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