OpenAI just announced that it recently conducted a small-scale preview of a new tool called Voice Engine. This is a voice cloning technology that can mimic any speaker by analyzing a 15-second audio sample. The company says it generates “natural-sounding speech” with “emotive and realistic voices.” The technology is based on the company’s pre-existing text-to-speech API and it has been in the works since 2022. OpenAI has already been using a version of the toolset to power the preset voices available in the current text-to-speech API and the Read Aloud feature. There are a bunch of samples on the company’s official blog and they sound eerily close to the real thing. I encourage you to give them a listen and imagine the possibilities, both good and bad. OpenAI says they see this technology being useful for reading assistance, language translation and helping those who suffer from sudden or degenerative speech conditions. The company brought up a Brown University pilot program that helped a patient with speech impairment issues by creating a Voice Engine clone pulled from audio recorded for a school project. Despite the potential benefits, bad actors would certainly abuse this technology to engage in some serious deepfake tomfoolery, which is already a problem. With this in mind, Voice Engine isn’t quite ready for prime time, as there are serious privacy concerns that must be met before a full rollout. OpenAI acknowledges that this tech has “serious risks, which are... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-03-29 19:03:56 UTC ]
North London-based charity Calibre Audio's Emma Scott talks to us about how it has navigated the boom in the audio sector to continue fulfilling it mission to provide free audiobooks to those with a print disability. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-18 13:02:19 UTC ]
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Emilia Fox is to read the audiobook of Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason, publishing with Weidenfeld & Nicolson in February. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-14 18:36:31 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. The product of a self-imposed desert exile with his exhaustive collection of personal... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-08 09:46:50 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. What would happen if Jesus’s second coming occurred in America, and he believed the best way... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-01 09:00:28 UTC ]
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At the end of 2020, sorting through my papers was a welcome reminder of the joys of a literary life Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-12-30 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Author and narrator Becky Cooper’s true-crime audiobook, We Keep the Dead Close, chronicles... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-30 09:46:52 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Narrator Amir Abdullah depicts Chicago’s wealthy enclaves, struggling neighborhoods, and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-30 09:44:33 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Actress and comedian Rachel Bloom narrates her own memoir, I Want to Be Where the Normal... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-29 09:46:38 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Narrator Edoardo Ballerini anchors a full-cast performance of The Cold Millions, a story that... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-28 09:00:55 UTC ]
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Actor Johnny Flynn will narrate the audiobook of The Octopus Man by Jasper Gibson. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-17 17:21:47 UTC ]
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George Saunders’ new book, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life, is out next month and promises to be a literary master class on the short story. Drawing from his teaching career at Syracuse’s MFA program, Saunders walks readers... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-17 17:00:15 UTC ]
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The Calibre Audio charity for readers who have print disabilities is hoping to add 48 new audiobooks to its library this holiday season. The post Calibre Audiobook Charity Joins the UK’s Big Give Holiday Challenge appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-12-02 20:32:53 UTC ]
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HarperNorth has bagged an audiobook about personal development and men's mental health from Paul Mort, UK Mastercoach of the Year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-30 10:00:16 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Nikki Giovanni’s slightly raspy, slightly sibilant voice draws listeners into Make Me Rain,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-27 11:56:49 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Looking for something to entertain younger listeners—or the whole family? Host Jo Reed and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-27 08:59:06 UTC ]
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Sphere has announced that actor Allan Corduner will narrate the audiobook of Parting Words by 100-year-old human rights lawyer Benjamin Ferencz. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-26 03:14:54 UTC ]
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German media firm, already owner of the giant Penguin Random House, says acquisition of another major publisher is ‘approvable’ within monopoly rulesGerman media group Bertelsmann is set to acquire publisher Simon & Schuster for $2.17bn, less than a year after it took control of Penguin... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-11-25 16:55:32 UTC ]
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Red Wheel/Weiser, a publisher of titles on mind-body-spirit and the occult, is joining with Dreamscape Media, an audio book production house and distributor, to launch Red Wheel Audio, a multi-year audiobook program. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-24 05:00:00 UTC ]
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“A spoonful of honey makes the medicine go down,” says S. A. Cosby on the appeal of thrillers. The medicine he’s referring to is themes like racism, poverty, and income inequality woven throughout his debut novel, Blacktop Wasteland. “It’s easier to talk about those things,” Cosby says, “if... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-23 09:48:50 UTC ]
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Hesitant UK and US publishers need to move into audiobook streaming to stay relevant, and maintain premium pricing in the face of interest from music services such as Spotify, Storytel's c.e.o. Jonas Tellander has warned. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-18 09:52:56 UTC ]
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