April 2, 2024: OpenAI, the corporate behind the favored ChatGPT, has announced Speech enginea brand new text-to-speech AI model that may create synthetic voices based on a 15-second recorded audio segment.
Developed in late 2022, the technology has the potential to supply quite a few advantages, equivalent to reading assistance, global reach for developers, and personalized language options for non-speaking people.
However, despite the potential advantages, OpenAI has decided to initially offer the technology as a preview but to not release it generally presently because of concerns about potential misuse.
The company initially planned a pilot program by which developers for the Speech Engine API Earlier this month, nevertheless, he scaled back his ambitions after weighing the moral implications.
In an announcement, OpenAI said: “We have decided to preview this technology but to not release it generally presently. We hope that this preview of Voice Engine each underscores its potential and motivates the necessity to construct societal resilience to the challenges posed by increasingly compelling generative models.”
The company has been testing the technology with select partner firms since last 12 months, requiring them to comply with terms of use that prohibit identity falsification without consent and require the informed consent of the people whose voices are cloned.
OpenAI has also implemented a watermark in each speech sample to make it easier to trace the origin of every voice generated by its voice engine model.
To address the potential risks of voice cloning technology, OpenAI has made three recommendations for society: phasing out voice-based authentication for bank accounts, educating the general public about the potential of misleading AI content, and accelerating the event of techniques to trace the origin of audio content.
The company stresses that a cautious and informed approach is required in the broader adoption of synthetic speech technology.
“We hope to start out a dialogue in regards to the responsible use of synthetic voices and the way society can adapt to those recent possibilities,” OpenAI said. “Based on these conversations and the outcomes of those small-scale tests, we are going to make a more informed decision about whether and methods to deploy this technology at scale.”
As voice cloning technology continues to advance, it’s critical for firms like OpenAI to think about the potential risks and ethical implications while working to understand the advantages for society.
