Media is undoubtedly taking powerful new forms these days. Technology is changing the way people communicate, entertain, and market their services. One of the ways that it is improving is in speech technology. In particular, the science of AI voice cloning is becoming a widely used tool by people in different industries.
In this article, we will take a closer look at the technology that underlies voice cloning and how it is being used in media. We will discuss the benefits and challenges of using it.
What is voice cloning in media translation technology?
As the name suggests, voice cloning technology is a technology that allows a person's voice to be replicated and used to create speech according to the instructions of a particular user. Voice cloning replicates speech patterns, including accent, pitch, and even things like rhythm and breathing patterns, to a remarkably accurate degree, thereby overcoming language barriers across cultures.
Once you have the technology available, you can create voice clones simply by typing a given text into the system and replicating the patterns of a person's voice.
Voice cloning is possible thanks to the use of artificial intelligence, and it has been used in a remarkably wide range of industries recently. Although there are some concerns about potential usage for nefarious purposes, the potential for positive usage is also great.
Why clone people's voices?
Aside from the fun of being able to make your friends say things they normally wouldn't, what is the purpose of voice cloning? Does it possess real, practical benefits? Actually, there are numerous benefits to be gained from technology, and it is applied much more widely than people might think.
Entertainment is an obvious area where AI voice cloning can be used.
As long as it is done responsibly—and with the permission of the person being cloned—it can make for very interesting, humorous, and informative audio and video productions.
Video games with voice actors or your own voice are another popular area that can use the technology. Of course, many of the world's leading games are popular in places with multiple languages. So, translating gives people the ability to understand all the nuances of these games. And, of course, audio material requires translation, as well. And it can sound much more authentic if given the voice of a desired speaker. Audiobooks and podcasts can both benefit from the use of voice cloning.
Education has a wide range of uses, as well.
For one thing, voice cloning can be used to create personalized learning experiences for individual learners. It can bring educational materials to students across the globe who might never have had access to them otherwise.
And, of course, for learners who are visually impaired, the technology can be a great asset in helping them gain access to important materials.
The Medical Industry
The medical industry uses technology to clone the voices of people who have speech problems. With the ability to clone their voices, speech-impaired people are able to express themselves in ways that they otherwise wouldn't, which opens up whole new worlds for them.
The technology is widely used in customer service.
Voice cloning can help to make virtual assistants and chatbots more personalized, and in making them more easily usable and attractive for customers.
Voice cloning can also be used in automated phone systems. When people call a business with questions, they don't want to talk to something that sounds like a robot. There is substantial statistical evidence that people are much more likely to stay engaged with a voice that sounds like a predictable person.
Benefits of Cloning for Global Video Distribution
The benefits of cloning voices for the global distribution of audio and especially video content are huge, as you can see with the free Rask AI video translator. Among them are the following:
People will be more receptive to your message.
Of course, dubbing or subtitling videos can get the message across. There is also reasonably good text-to-speech software that produces audio in different generic AI voices; some people consider this good enough for their purposes.
But voice cloning technology is at a whole different level. When people hear a company CEO speaking to them in their own language without a foreign accent, it makes an immediate psychological difference in how they perceive the message.
You will gain popularity as the word spreads among populations about you.
When people feel like they are having a good experience with a company, they are much more likely to spread the word to others. And if you can use voice cloning on your social media, website, and other company materials, this will further help your global popularity.
Challenges Faced by the Industry
For all the benefits that technology provides, the industry also faces a fair number of challenges. These include:
Cultural Sensitivity
Speaking to someone in their native language involves much more than just words, of course. There are many subtleties that you need to learn to even begin to approximate native behavior.
If you think about what the experience of moving abroad is like, the culture shock factor is a significant one. And although the process of moving has been getting significantly easier in recent years—thanks to improved communications and transportation—it is still difficult. So, creating voice cloning in different languages that truly speaks to people is a major task.
Add to this factors such as humor, charm, and the ability to persuade as perceived by locals in different places, and you can see why the challenge is so great. For this reason, it is essential to work alongside people from the places you want to send your material to when creating your audio samples.
Technical Issues with Synchronization
There are actually different kinds of synchronization that voice cloning uses. These include lip-syncing, where voice clips are synchronized with actors' mouth movements.
A second kind is known as "kinesic" synchronization. In this case, voices are synchronized with the body movements of actors. And the third kind is called "isochrony," which uses an actor's own utterances to synchronize voice clips.
Synchronization can be very tricky in some cases because languages vary significantly in terms of the length of their words. Think about the length of German or Finnish words compared to their English counterparts.
It can make for a very challenging technical task. And if videos lack synchronization, the whole point of creating a smooth experience for the viewer is ruined.
Dangers and Wider Industry Concerns
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, there are also some serious dangers involved with the potential for voice cloning. People have already used it to impersonate celebrities or figures of authority and make them seem to be saying things they haven't really said.
Fraud
There are also concerns about fraud. Cybercriminals can use voice cloning to create fake customer service messages asking people for money or for personal information. And because AI technology allows for such high degrees of personalization, these hackers can create very realistic-sounding messages. Elderly people are particularly vulnerable to this kind of threat as they are often not at all familiar with the technology and can be easily tricked into thinking that requests are real.
How can we address these dangers?
Considering the dangers that voice cloning technology poses, the obvious question becomes whether or not it is even worth it. While there are, of course, many benefits to be gained from the use of voice cloning software, all of the parties involved in its creation, distribution, and usage should be very careful to ensure that it is not abused.
How can this be done?
As AI and all of its various applications are still in their infancy, governments and other regulatory agencies have not yet created standards for them. However, the need for government action is quickly becoming apparent. As we have seen with other new technologies, such as cryptocurrency, a lack of appropriate regulation can lead to total chaos.
Regulation should comprise several important components in order to be truly effective and protect the rights of creators and consumers alike.
Established Protocol for Opting-In
While voice cloning is still a new phenomenon, there are other similar technologies in place that have started to see a greater degree of regulation in some countries. Facial recognition, for example, requires detailed, official protocols about collecting, storing, and using people's data. And those who are subject to it have the right to opt out if they choose.
Ability to Detect Fraudulent Cloning
An important component of voice cloning will be liveness detection, or the ability to detect whether a clone is genuine or not. This is also something that is applied to other biometric technologies. It will be critical in minimizing the number of fakes that are produced.
Multi-step Authentication
As with email and other types of sensitive systems, companies that use voice recognition should require that users go through a multi-step authentication process. This will help to ensure that unauthorized people are not able to hack into their systems and create problems.
Conclusion
Voice cloning presents tremendous possibilities for companies, the entertainment industry, healthcare, education, and other fields. We are only just beginning to get a sense of what is possible with it. As technology develops, we need to be sure that it is used responsibly so that it does not cause harm to individuals, companies, or governments. To ensure that this happens, everyone involved in the process needs to come together to create and enforce proper regulatory procedures.
