OpenAI has declared Voice Engine, a groundbreaking text-to-speech Artificial Intelligence (AI) model capable of creating synthetic voices using a 15-second audio sample. Although the technology has multiple potential applications including reading assistance, broadcasting for creators, and personalized speech solutions for non-verbal individuals, OpenAI has chosen to hold back on a full public release due to concerns over possible misuse.
Created in 2022, the platform was initially set to launch a pilot API program for developers earlier this month. However, OpenAI decided to reconsider its plans due to ethical considerations. OpenAI highlighted the importance of avoiding a hasty release and instead underscored the need to boost societal resilience against challenges posed by increasingly convincing generative models.
The AI giant has been cooperating with select partner companies since last year on a trial basis, requiring these firms to agree to terms of use that ban unethical impersonation and enforce informed consent from individuals whose voices are being duplicated. To help trace the origin of any generated voices, OpenAI has incorporated a watermark into every voice sample derived from the Voice Engine model.
The company is aware of the potential hazards linked with voice-cloning technology and suggested three strategies to counteract the risks. This includes phasing out voice-based authentication in banking, educating the public about potentially deceptive AI content, and advancing techniques to trace the source of audio content.
Even though synthetic voice technology is rapidly advancing, OpenAI stresses the importance of a cautious and educated approach for a wider release. The company seeks to provoke dialogue about the ethical deployment of synthetic voices and the necessary societal adjustments.
OpenAI stated that “Based on these conversations and the results of these small scale tests, we will make a more informed decision about whether and how to deploy this technology at scale”. As voice-cloning technology develops, organizations like OpenAI need to balance potential societal benefits with possible risks and ethical questions.
In other AI related news, GitHub introduced Code Scanning Autofix, Nvidia unveiled a new AI superchip along with a quantum computing service and humanoid robotics tools, Tyler Perry put an $800 million studio expansion on hold due to OpenAI’s Sora, Cognition introduced Devin the world’s first fully autonomous AI software engineer, and Apple acquired AI startup DarwinAI.
