Not the Headlines Extra! Artificial Voices

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Because I generally speak for a living, my voice is a commodity that I’ve been able use as a tool to provide a service to those who would rather someone else speak for them. I’ve been blessed with a nice-sounding voice and I’ve spent a lifetime paying attention to how others speak, while trying to learn to be a better speaker myself. 

My two favorite subjects in High School were Band and English. I had Band first period all four years of high school, and I can’t think of a better way to start the day than to climb into my tuba and play some rousing march tunes or some symphonic number we were going to play in the spring concert. But English was a real window to the world for me, and comprehension was something my teachers focused on. Teachers like Mrs. Zelinski, who was just a delight, and Miss Eglanski, who’s class was almost like you were interrupting her love affair with William Shakespeare. It wasn’t enough to know how to read anymore. You had to think about what you read and what it meant. And much of it was open to interpretation. 

By now you might be thinking, “Great, Bob. What’s your point?”

My point is that in addition to my day job and writing and producing this program, I also get audition opportunities for voice work. I also know other people who use their voices to generate income and support their families. There’s a market for people who know how to speak properly and have a voice that might be appealing to a segment of the population. A voice you can trust. A voice that conveys a certain image. Sophisticated or Soothing. It’s a talent and a gift, if you decide to use it that way. 

But there’s a new era of voices entering our audible spaces. More and more often, I get audition opportunities that are scripts written for the sole purpose of teaching artificial intelligence how to speak like an average human. 

Some of them come right out and say it, some don’t, but those of us who speak for a living can spot it from a mile away. 

I’m not going to get into why this artificial intelligence voice mimicking is bad for business. What I want you to know is that the technology to mimic and impersonate and replace human voices has risen to a level that has never been heard before. You can’t trust a voice you hear on the phone, and you can’t trust a voice you hear even when you’re looking at them on your phone. Artificial Intelligence, for all of the advantages it may bring, will also be used to fool us. The easiest way for that to happen is to create voices that sound exactly like us. I will not audition for any opportunity that may be used specifically for the purpose of teaching a computer to sound more like a human being. That computer didn’t spend a lifetime learning how to speak. That computer didn’t spend a minute in Mrs. Zelinski’s class. That computer didn’t see the look on her face when I asked her to write the sentence, “There are three too, to, two ‘s in the English language” on the chalk board. We taught the whole class a lesson that day. That was in 7th grade. I already had her respect when she was my English teacher again in 10th grade. As for Miss Eglanski, her tests required you to answer each question with a complete sentence, and there were three different versions of the test. I realized that as long as I wrote a complete sentence that was correct in relation to the story, she would mark it correct, regardless of the question.

These are things that artificial intelligence should never know. 

If we want to fill their databases with information that helps us cure cancer or solve other societal problems, that’s great. But we know that there are people who will use the latest technology to fool and cheat, to steal and deceive. Perhaps the ultimate tool to do that is through the sound of the human voice. There is nothing more comforting, more reassuring, than hearing another human’s voice saying anything that let’s you know that you’re not alone.

We’ve already experienced artificial intelligence talking kids into harming themselves and others. Not with video, but with the sound of a human voice. There may or may not be some other contributing factor, but there’s no disputing the power of the spoken word. That power has not gone unnoticed. We all need to be skeptical of everything we hear. Unless you’re in the same room with someone, or a video can be confirmed by multiple sources, such as video of political leaders making statements on multiple newscasts, not memes. Which is a whole different topic. 

Just know that there are concerted efforts being made to fool you. The most basic of those is perhaps the most effective. The sound of the human voice is now being duplicated by machines in ways more accurate than ever before, thanks to people who are willing to supply samples for that purpose, and companies who will unlawfully copy voice samples for nefarious reasons without permission.

It’s sad to say, but the voice you’re hearing right now may be a duplication and compilation of words that I’ve already said in a different context and for a different reason.