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 ]
Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Wed, 31/08/2011 - 09:00 Hardie Grant has acquired the memoir of Italian chef and restauranteur Antonio Carluccio. World rights to the title, to be published in autumn 2012, were bought by Stephen King, general manager of Hardie Grant UK from... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 17/06/2011 - 10:55 Hodder & Stoughton has acquired an eighth title in the Dark Tower series by Stephen King, which has Roland Deschain of Gilead as its lead character. The Wind Through the Keyhole will be published worldwide in spring... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 21/04/2011 - 07:40 Hodder is rolling out a new backlist look for one of its supernatural and thriller stars, Stephen King. The publisher will be re-issuing his backlist, including titles written by his alter-ego, Richard Bachman. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Thu, 31/03/2011 - 08:55 Independent publisher Hardie Grant has acquired three titles by Australian food editor and cookbook author Donna Hay. Stephen King, general manager of Hardie Grant London, acquired UK rights to the titles from Hollie Zondanos,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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