#digitalvoices — Public Fediverse posts

Lincoln Journal Star: Bomb threat at York County school turns out to be AI hoax. “The York County Sheriff’s Office responded to the bomb threat at Nebraska Evangelical Lutheran High School in Waco just after 1 p.m. Thursday. School personnel believe an unknown male called the school’s main line saying explosive devices had been placed inside and outside the building. After searching the school […]

Lincoln Journal Star: Bomb threat at York County school turns out to be AI hoax. “The York County Sheriff’s Office responded to the bomb threat at Nebraska Evangelical Lutheran High School in Waco just after 1 p.m. Thursday. School personnel believe an unknown male called the school’s main line saying explosive devices had been placed inside and outside the building. After searching the school […]

PsyPost: AI voice clones are easier to understand in noisy environments than real humans. “Artificial intelligence voice clones tend to be easier to understand in noisy environments than the actual human voices they mimic. This finding provides evidence that synthetic speech technology could significantly improve assistive communication devices for individuals with speech impairments.”

PsyPost: AI voice clones are easier to understand in noisy environments than real humans. “Artificial intelligence voice clones tend to be easier to understand in noisy environments than the actual human voices they mimic. This finding provides evidence that synthetic speech technology could significantly improve assistive communication devices for individuals with speech impairments.”

The Conversation: From cloning romance authors to YouTube piracy, AI is transforming audiobooks. “Around 17% of Australian audiobook listeners have (knowingly) listened to an AI audiobook, according to my own recent survey of over 500 Australian audiobook listeners. This rate is higher among listeners with vision impairments and other disabilities, who have long used AI for accessibility […]

The Conversation: From cloning romance authors to YouTube piracy, AI is transforming audiobooks. “Around 17% of Australian audiobook listeners have (knowingly) listened to an AI audiobook, according to my own recent survey of over 500 Australian audiobook listeners. This rate is higher among listeners with vision impairments and other disabilities, who have long used AI for accessibility […]

Reuters: Journalists sue Google for allegedly using their voices in AI training. “Google has been sued by a group of award-winning journalists, podcasters and audiobook narrators in Illinois federal court for allegedly misusing ​recordings of their voices to train the artificial intelligence models ‌that power Google Assistant, Gemini Live and other systems that replicate human voices.”

Reuters: Journalists sue Google for allegedly using their voices in AI training. “Google has been sued by a group of award-winning journalists, podcasters and audiobook narrators in Illinois federal court for allegedly misusing ​recordings of their voices to train the artificial intelligence models ‌that power Google Assistant, Gemini Live and other systems that replicate human voices.”

Lifehacker: How to Spot AI Audiobooks on Libby. “Library digital lending app Libby says it does not make decisions when it comes to AI-generated content on its platform; rather, the app simply serves to make available to borrowers the content that libraries themselves have purchased. That means if you’re passionate about your stand against AI-generated books and audiobooks, you may want to give […]

Lifehacker: How to Spot AI Audiobooks on Libby. “Library digital lending app Libby says it does not make decisions when it comes to AI-generated content on its platform; rather, the app simply serves to make available to borrowers the content that libraries themselves have purchased. That means if you’re passionate about your stand against AI-generated books and audiobooks, you may want to give […]

Pete Warden: Announcing Moonshine Voice. “Today we’re launching Moonshine Voice, a new family of on-device speech to text models designed for live voice applications, and an open source library to run them. They support streaming, doing a lot of the compute while the user is still talking so your app can respond to user speech an order of magnitude faster than alternatives, while continuously […]

Pete Warden: Announcing Moonshine Voice. “Today we’re launching Moonshine Voice, a new family of on-device speech to text models designed for live voice applications, and an open source library to run them. They support streaming, doing a lot of the compute while the user is still talking so your app can respond to user speech an order of magnitude faster than alternatives, while continuously […]

TechCrunch: Longtime NPR host David Greene sues Google over NotebookLM voice. “David Greene, the longtime host of NPR’s ‘Morning Edition,’ is suing Google, alleging that the male podcast voice in the company’s NotebookLM tool is based on Greene, according to The Washington Post.”

TechCrunch: Longtime NPR host David Greene sues Google over NotebookLM voice. “David Greene, the longtime host of NPR’s ‘Morning Edition,’ is suing Google, alleging that the male podcast voice in the company’s NotebookLM tool is based on Greene, according to The Washington Post.”

Waze Blog: Drive with “SpongeBob” on Waze. “The world’s favorite sponge is jumping in as a navigator for an open-road adventure! To celebrate the upcoming release of ‘The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants’ in theatres December 19, SpongeBob is bringing his nautical charm, quick wit, and bursts of positivity to your daily drive.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/12/05/waze-blog-drive-with-spongebob-on-waze/

Waze Blog: Drive with “SpongeBob” on Waze. “The world’s favorite sponge is jumping in as a navigator for an open-road adventure! To celebrate the upcoming release of ‘The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants’ in theatres December 19, SpongeBob is bringing his nautical charm, quick wit, and bursts of positivity to your daily drive.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/12/05/waze-blog-drive-with-spongebob-on-waze/

Blogging in 2025: Screaming into the Void

https://askmike.org/articles/blogging-in-2025-screaming-into-the-void/

#HackerNews #Blogging #Future #Blogging2025 #ContentCreation #DigitalVoices #OnlineExpression

Blogging in 2025: Screaming into the Void

https://askmike.org/articles/blogging-in-2025-screaming-into-the-void/

#HackerNews #Blogging #Future #Blogging2025 #ContentCreation #DigitalVoices #OnlineExpression

University of Michigan: Sound familiar? Matching voices boost trust in self-driving cars. “When the voice of an automated vehicle matched the driver’s own—particularly their gender—people reported higher levels of trust. Gender similarity strongly influenced both logical confidence in the car’s abilities and emotional connection, while age similarity mainly shaped the emotional bond.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/08/31/university-of-michigan-sound-familiar-matching-voices-boost-trust-in-self-driving-cars/

Hollywood Reporter: SAG-AFTRA Suspends Strike Against Video Game Companies, Paving Way for Return to Work. “At the time the strike was called, SAG-AFTRA framed the move by saying that pay hadn’t kept pace with inflation and that it had multiple issues of contention with gaming companies’ use of AI in the contracts of performers who make money using their voices and/or likenesses. That […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/06/13/hollywood-reporter-sag-aftra-suspends-strike-against-video-game-companies-paving-way-for-return-to-work/

Hollywood Reporter: SAG-AFTRA Suspends Strike Against Video Game Companies, Paving Way for Return to Work. “At the time the strike was called, SAG-AFTRA framed the move by saying that pay hadn’t kept pace with inflation and that it had multiple issues of contention with gaming companies’ use of AI in the contracts of performers who make money using their voices and/or likenesses. That […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/06/13/hollywood-reporter-sag-aftra-suspends-strike-against-video-game-companies-paving-way-for-return-to-work/

New York Times Style Magazine: How Should a Woman Sound?. “If you’ve been on TikTok at all, you know this voice: It’s female and aggressively chipper. It veers from high-pitched to only slightly lower than high-pitched with intonations that defy logic and emphases placed where they ought not to be. It’s a voice destined to say things like, ‘Hey, can I play too?’ when there’s clearly […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/08/new-york-times-style-magazine-how-should-a-woman-sound/

New York Times Style Magazine: How Should a Woman Sound?. “If you’ve been on TikTok at all, you know this voice: It’s female and aggressively chipper. It veers from high-pitched to only slightly lower than high-pitched with intonations that defy logic and emphases placed where they ought not to be. It’s a voice destined to say things like, ‘Hey, can I play too?’ when there’s clearly […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/08/new-york-times-style-magazine-how-should-a-woman-sound/

TechCrunch: A year later, OpenAI still hasn’t released its voice cloning tool . “Late last March, OpenAI announced a ‘small-scale preview’ of an AI service, Voice Engine, that the company claimed could clone a person’s voice with just 15 seconds of speech. Roughly a year later, the tool remains in preview, and OpenAI has given no indication as to when it might launch — or whether […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/10/techcrunch-a-year-later-openai-still-hasnt-released-its-voice-cloning-tool/

TechCrunch: A year later, OpenAI still hasn’t released its voice cloning tool . “Late last March, OpenAI announced a ‘small-scale preview’ of an AI service, Voice Engine, that the company claimed could clone a person’s voice with just 15 seconds of speech. Roughly a year later, the tool remains in preview, and OpenAI has given no indication as to when it might launch — or whether […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/10/techcrunch-a-year-later-openai-still-hasnt-released-its-voice-cloning-tool/

MIT Technology Review: A woman made her AI voice clone say “arse.” Then she got banned.. “Joyce doesn’t use her voice clone all that often. She finds it impractical for everyday conversations. But she does like to hear her old voice and will use it on occasion. One such occasion was when she was waiting for her husband, Paul, to get ready to go out. Joyce typed a message for her voice […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/01/mit-technology-review-a-woman-made-her-ai-voice-clone-say-arse-then-she-got-banned/

MIT Technology Review: A woman made her AI voice clone say “arse.” Then she got banned.. “Joyce doesn’t use her voice clone all that often. She finds it impractical for everyday conversations. But she does like to hear her old voice and will use it on occasion. One such occasion was when she was waiting for her husband, Paul, to get ready to go out. Joyce typed a message for her voice […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/01/mit-technology-review-a-woman-made-her-ai-voice-clone-say-arse-then-she-got-banned/

The Conversation: Deepfakes can ruin lives and livelihoods – would owning the ‘rights’ to our own faces and voices help?. “Not that long ago, the term “deepfake” wasn’t in most people’s vocabularies. Now, it is not only commonplace, but is also the focus of intense legal scrutiny around the world. Known in legal documents as ‘digital replicas’, deepfakes are created by […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/22/the-conversation-deepfakes-can-ruin-lives-and-livelihoods-would-owning-the-rights-to-our-own-faces-and-voices-help/

The Conversation: Deepfakes can ruin lives and livelihoods – would owning the ‘rights’ to our own faces and voices help?. “Not that long ago, the term “deepfake” wasn’t in most people’s vocabularies. Now, it is not only commonplace, but is also the focus of intense legal scrutiny around the world. Known in legal documents as ‘digital replicas’, deepfakes are created by […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/22/the-conversation-deepfakes-can-ruin-lives-and-livelihoods-would-owning-the-rights-to-our-own-faces-and-voices-help/

Publishing Perspectives: AI-Voiced Audiobooks: New Guidance for Consumer Labeling. “Today (December 19), the United States-based Audio Publishers Association and the United Kingdom’s Audio Publishers Group—part of the UK’s Publishers Association (PA)— have together issued a kind of holiday gift to the industry: a concise guide for publishers and retailers to consider on responsible […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2024/12/20/ai-voiced-audiobooks-new-guidance-for-consumer-labeling-publishing-perspectives/

Publishing Perspectives: AI-Voiced Audiobooks: New Guidance for Consumer Labeling. “Today (December 19), the United States-based Audio Publishers Association and the United Kingdom’s Audio Publishers Group—part of the UK’s Publishers Association (PA)— have together issued a kind of holiday gift to the industry: a concise guide for publishers and retailers to consider on responsible […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2024/12/20/ai-voiced-audiobooks-new-guidance-for-consumer-labeling-publishing-perspectives/

Via Melissa Medina (on twitter):
"Hey fellow audiobook narrators, friendly reminder to check your contracts and terms of service on various platforms for language about voice reproduction or synthesis. Not just ACX but Ahab, WeHear, Findaway, Scribe, etc. TOS do get updated so cover your ass."

#VoiceActors #DigitalVoices #NoContractNoWork

@romancelandia

https://www.sagaftra.org/no-contract-no-work-order-audiobooks

⁦#Apple⁩ quietly launched dozens of new #audiobooks featuring #AI-generated #DigitalVoices, replacing human #storytellers in a move critics say misses the point of what customers look for in #listening to a #story instead of reading one themselves. https://flip.it/ZC7mZc

⁦#Apple⁩ quietly launched dozens of new #audiobooks featuring #AI-generated #DigitalVoices, replacing human #storytellers in a move critics say misses the point of what customers look for in #listening to a #story instead of reading one themselves. https://flip.it/ZC7mZc