VOICE ACTING AND AI

Artificial intelligence has arrived and it's moving quickly into the zeitgeist. For voice actors it started harmlessly with Siri, Alex and Google, however it seems to be moving beyond merely text-to-speech technology and narrow AI. Where Siri can drive you mad when all you want to know is what the population of Singapore is, with responses like 'Sorry, I did not understand' and 'Please ask again later' (!), voice over in AI has introduced a whole new ball game.

As a voice actor my initial thoughts were- 'Will my job be obsolete in a few years? Has this all been a waste of time? Does Bunning's have any job openings?' But digging into it further, it seems we have to work with AI responsibly and embrace how it can aid us, not deter us.

Ad agencies, radio networks or any company producing media with voice over need to consider transparency with use of AI. Using an AI voice for your pizza commercial? Label it as AI. The hope here is that companies will be deterred from using AI if they have to label it publicly. Essentially, AI cannot currently provide the nuance, emotion and range that real voices can. Nor can it take direction very well! The proof is in the pudding... #choosepeople #hirehumans #AI #voiceactors

International voice actors proving voice over is still alive and kicking.