The art of voice overs has journeyed through time, right from the golden age of radio to today’s podcasts and TikTok marketing.
In between these time markers, there’s been a notable evolution, with ethical concerns of AI voice overs emerging as a key issue in recent years.
This is especially true with the rise of sophisticated text-to-speech engines, which have not only revolutionized the industry but also introduced a new era of possibilities and challenges.
So how should the voice over industry respond, and what are the ethical concerns of AI voice overs that we need to be most mindful about?
In this article, we’ll look at what we mean by AI voice overs and highlight the challenges and opportunities that the industry faces.
How Advanced is Today’s AI Voice Technology?
AI voice overs are simply synthetic voices generated by artificial intelligence.
Yet there’s nothing simple about the technology behind them nor the effect of their growing use.
In recent years, AI voice technology has witnessed exponential growth. According to Ida Group market data, 97% of mobile users admitted to regularly using AI voice assistants.
Certainly, whether with voice assistants or video VOs, AI technology has become so much more sophisticated. Gone are the days of robotic, monotonous AI voices.
Today’s text-to-speech engines are powered by machine learning algorithms that convert written text into spoken audio and so elbow out the need for a human to record the script.
The result is incredibly lifelike artificial speech, mirroring the human voice’s tonality, rhythm, and intonation.
Numerous applications now incorporate this tech, from the aforementioned virtual assistants to AI-driven audiobooks, and even video game characters.
What Are the Ethical Concerns of AI Voice Overs Today?
This exponentially growing landscape isn’t free from ethical conundrums.
Hyper-realistic AI voices open doors to misuse, like deepfakes.
Imagine an unauthorized AI replica of your voice endorsing a product you’ve never used.
Disturbing, right? Another ethical concern is voice data’s ownership and consent.
When you speak to a digital assistant, is your voice data ethically used?
Last, and by no means least, the rise of artificial speech challenges the livelihood of human voice over artists.
With AI voices offering cheaper and quicker solutions, where does that leave human talent?
Can AI Voice Overs Truly Resonate Emotion?
Emotion is nuanced, complex, and deeply human.
While text-to-speech engines can mimic sound, the essence of emotion often gets lost.
As many of the Voice Crafters artists note in the video below, a human voice actor can convey sorrow, joy, excitement, or anxiety, based on subtle variations in their tone and pitch.
This authenticity, this human touch, is hard, if not impossible, for AI voices to replicate fully. At least for now.
Can We Strike a Balance Between Tech and Humanity?
Some human voiceover artists are finding ways to coexist and even thrive alongside AI.
By leveraging the benefits of AI – such as localizing their voices or modulating it.
Some use the power of AI to generate video content using their voice.
While retaining the authentic emotional connection only humans can offer, perhaps a new collaborative model can emerge.
What Ethical Approach Should We Adopt?
Transparency—and fairness—is pivotal.
Legislators and policymakers are considering new regulations that will address the ethical concerns of AI voice overs.
But while such laws aim to ensure the responsible use of this technology, really everyone using synthetic voices has a duty to be transparent about the use of AI-generated voices in their content.
Voice over seekers should clearly know whether they’re hearing an AI or a human. Interestingly, most of us already know this on a subconscious level.
American Voice talent Jodi K.
This is according to audio research pioneer Joe Sauer who spoke about our sub-conscious ability to discern AI voice overs on an episode of Audio Branding Podcast, hosted by accomplished voice actor Jodie K.
In an experiment run by his company Emotisphere, participants heard the same phrase said by four human voices and four AI voices without being told which was which. Saur reveals:
The vast majority of participants were not able to accurately classify whether the phrase they just heard was AI-generated or human. So, consciously, it all sounds the same.
But when we started to isolate and quantify the subconscious response, the accuracy shot way up and most respondents were able to accurately identify whether a voice they heard was synthetic or human.”
While Saur can’t definitively say why this is, his belief through decades of investigating the power of sound is simply that:
There’s just something in the AI process that’s losing humanity, and we may not be able to hear it when we’re actively attuned to it…But when we rely more on those primal, basic human responses, we can tell.
In many ways, this highlights how addressing the ethical concerns of AI voiceovers is actually essential to building trust with audiences.
Even if a business’s target customers are not consciously aware they are consuming AI-generated content, it seems they’ll subconsciously sense something is off, which can translate into deep feelings of mistrust.
Avoiding Deception of AI Voice Over Versions of Real Humans
Of course, it’s not just the duped audiences that businesses need to be respectful of when it comes to the use of AI voice overs.
Giving proper credit, financial and otherwise, especially when human voice data contributes to AI voice models, is another cornerstone of ethical usage.
Moreover, informed consent, especially when sourcing and using human voice data, remains non-negotiable.
We can (and I submit that we should) adopt fair models, where whenever AI versions of real voice actors are used, talent should be paid on a per-usage basis, as opposed to a flat fee for a carpet agreement using the voice for whatever application without limitation.
Talent agents should also be able to play a role (I may be biased here).
At a VO conference in 2022, I suggested that agents would be able to use human-synthesized voices from a large database via API and offer casting options to clients.
This would be another source of income for both agents and talent at a discounted cost for clients. Win-win, right?
What Awaits in the Future?
The synergy between human voice overs and AI voices will likely define the industry’s future.
AI will undoubtedly become more advanced, but human voices, with their emotional depth and authenticity, will always find a unique place. As long as ethical guidelines shape its progress, the voice over industry will have an exciting, inclusive future.
Voice, in its essence, connects deeply with our human experience.
While AI voices are shaping a revolutionary path in text-to-speech technology, the human voice over retains its irreplaceable essence.
For all those navigating this domain, understanding the ethical dimensions is not just essential—it’s imperative.
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2 Comments
Amen to that!!
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