This article was contributed by Sarah Lawson, a Senior Marketing & AI Ethics Specialist at Rask AI.
The nature of communication is changing for sure. New AI technology is coming up that are enabling us to communicate more effectively, more accurately, and to a much wider audience of people than ever before. One of the things that is making this possible is the technology of voice cloning. Voice cloning work can be used to make video translations much more powerful and allow people to hear real human voices who aren’t actually speaking the languages being produced.
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In the sections below, we will explore how this is possible and the ways in which it is being used. We will also discuss some of the things you should look out for when using voice cloning technology.
What exactly is voice cloning technology?
Voice cloning technology is a tool that enables programs to replicate the sound of people’s voices. Through voice cloning software, speech can be produced that sounds exactly like real voices speaking particular languages.
Advanced
The technology is so advanced, in fact, that it is able to replicate precise speech patterns, accents, speed, pitch, and even breathing patterns in exactly the same way a native speaker would produce them. This helps to bridge the differences between cultures and allow people of minority language groups to feel as if they are a greater part of the global system.
User-friendly
And it is user-friendly, as well. Once you choose a particular tool, all you have to do is enter in the text that you want and the program will do the rest. Thanks to artificial intelligence, the technology is making waves all over the world in recent years.
Benefits of cloning using your own voice or another person’s voice for AI voice cloning
There are many benefits to be gained from voice cloning in video translation. These include the following:
You will be more effective in getting your message across
While it is possible that people will understand and be receptive to your message through basic translation, they will be much more receptive to material that speaks to them in a native-sounding voice in their own language. This will make them more interested in your material overall, and enable them to get more out of what you have to offer.
Brand recognition
If you want to spread your brand’s message to other countries, there is no better way to do it than to reach people in their native languages. When people feel like a company is speaking to them in the same way that they would speak to their native peers, they are much more likely to think favorably of that company and tell people about it.
This, in turn, helps with brand recognition as the word spreads across societies, and in time brands become known entities.
Increased sales
When brands become more popular, of course, sales go up. When people tell their peers in other countries about your product, word will spread and more and more people will become interested in buying it. This will allow you to increase your revenue and eventually expand your product line. As your message reaches a greater number of communities, you will be inspired to expand your geographic reach even further.
Industries that can benefit from voice cloning translations
Virtually any industry can benefit from voice cloning translations. Among the industries that are using it currently are the following:
Education
This technology has wide potential uses in education. Voice cloning can create personalized learning experiences for learners in different parts of the world. For many people that would not have exposure to high-quality educational materials, it is a game changer.
Voice cloning is also critical for learners that are visually impaired as they rely on audio material entirely. The technology can open up many possibilities to people with visual impairment issues.
Entertainment
For people who live in English-speaking regions and other countries whose native languages are major producers of shows, broadcasts, and other forms of entertainment, it is understood that people will automatically have access to spoken material in their native languages.
But for people in minority language regions, they generally haven’t had this luxury. With voice cloning technology, many forms of entertainment are becoming accessible, allowing people everywhere to enjoy the same level of native-sounding speech as those in popular language regions.
Medicine
Voice cloning is similarly making waves in medicine. For many people in minority regions – particularly, but not only, those that suffer from visual impairment – the ability to have clear instructions and dialog available is a major game changer.
Customer service
Customer service is another area where people can benefit tremendously from voice cloning. If people who live in remote parts of the world want to order things or use services, until now they have had to do with substandard translations or written materials.
With voice cloning, people will feel as if customer service representatives are addressing each of them individually. And this will make a huge difference in customer satisfaction.
Challenges to be aware of
Voice cloning is a remarkable, potentially life-changing tool for many people. There are some things that users should be aware of when using it, though. We will take a look in the sections below.
Accuracy
While the technology does have the potential to be very precise, it isn’t always accurate. Any voice cloning translation should be conducted alongside native speakers of the languages that you want to translate into in order to be sure that you catch all of the subtle nuances of the target language. Even minor inaccuracies could hit a nerve with your audience and cause people to feel that they are getting an artificial product.
Linguistic subtleties
Linguistic subtleties that you need to pay attention to include intonation, humor, and an overall sense of the type of message that you are trying to project. If you think about it, even native speakers fail to identify with one another if they are from different regions or socioeconomic strata. To be really accurate in your voice cloning, you need to understand the precise context of your target audience.
Technical problems
Any technological tool can be faulty and have glitches. In the case of voice cloning, there can be issues with synchronization with cloned voices. The audio that you produce from a cloned voice can be out of sync with the video that people see, and voice actors’ mouth movements might not match the sound that comes out.
People who produce these videos need to be acutely aware of these issues and eliminate them whenever they appear. If not, the final product will appear very artificial to audiences, and the whole point of creating an authentic-looking video will be lost.
Legal and ethical problems
There are also ethical and legal issues associated with voice cloning. For one thing, the temptation to impersonate the voices of celebrities or political figures is obvious. It has already happened that people have made fairly accurate clones of the voices of President Biden and others.
Reputational damage
In the future, people need to be extremely vigilant about not allowing this tendency to proliferate. The potential consequences are obvious. It could do reputational damage to the people whose voices are being unjustly replicated, the messages sent could have damaging consequences for many different parties, and there could be wider problems still. Imagine a fake voice proclaiming that the president just declared war on another country.
Remain aware
Because this technology is so proficient at what it does, people need to be aware of its potential to deceive. Certain groups of people are more vulnerable to falling victim to this. People who live in remote areas and do not have regular access to technology may be totally unaware of the technology’s potential.
Also, elderly people tend to be vulnerable. Because the older generation grew up without advanced technology, many elderly people find it hard to manipulate even things like mobile phones. The idea that human voices could be falsely replicated into AI voices is probably inconceivable to many of them.
Regulation is critical
Governments and regulatory bodies absolutely need to get on board to ensure that the technology is used responsibly. This is particularly tricky because technology travels across national borders, and different governments have different regulations.
Like many new technologies, both national and international law is going to need to create and enforce protocols for the use of voice cloning. Otherwise, it could easily spiral out of control.
Conclusion
Voice cloning technology is poised to revolutionize translations for international audiences. With it, people can translate into any number of languages and reach audiences that would never before have had exposure to certain kinds of material. Both recipients and the companies that produce these translations can benefit from this material as it will increase brand awareness and help promote the proliferation of these translations.
Voice cloning should be approached with caution, however, as it poses a significant risk of fraud. Companies that employ the technology should be sure that they use it responsibly, ensure the consent of people whose voices are being cloned, and follow strict rules with regard to distribution.
About the author
Sarah Lawson is Senior Marketing Specialist & AI Ethics Specialist at Rask AI, Part of Brask Inc. – a global AI content company. She holds a PhD in Computational Linguistics from Stanford University as well as Degree in Copywriting. Dr. Lawson has published extensively on the ethical implications of AI in media and has been a consultant for major tech firms seeking to integrate AI technologies responsibly. Her work bridges the gap between technological innovation and its practical, ethical use in global communications.
Last Updated on August 28, 2024 1:21 pm CEST
