Synthetic voice tech - its going to be a big deal!

👄 Heads up - synthetic voice tech is actually going to be a big deal. And like the rest of GenAI, it's not going away.

Elevenlabs has been around for a while, raising red flags about AI voice tech (remember the Biden call in New Hampshire telling people not to vote?)

Well, last week, OpenAI dropped a bombshell that's about to shake up many industries, including PR and communications.

In a nutshell, you can upload a 15-second sample of yourself speaking and instantly generate near-perfect audio that sounds just like you, in any language, based on any written input.

Off the top of my head, here are a few of the pros I see:
✅ Translating content into multiple languages while preserving the speaker's unique voice and accent.
✅ Making content more accessible and engaging for a much wider audience.
✅ New avenues for storytelling and brand messaging.
✅ Streamline content creation processes (less time spent on voice-over recordings and manual translations)

But there are major risks, like:
❌ Major potential for misuse, like bad actors using this tech for impersonation and spreading misinformation (sighhhhhhh)
❌ Questions about how consent works to use people's voices? What about after someone leaves the organization?
❌ Disruption to traditional voice-over and translation roles
❌ Major gaps in regulations and guidelines around the use of synthetic voice technology and answers to questions around disclosure when AI-generated voices are used.

What pros and cons do you see? Let me know in the comments!