OpenAI unveils a voice cloning tool but considers it too hazardous for public release.
A tool for replicating voices has been introduced by OpenAI but the public distribution of it has been delayed because of worries about potential abuse during a crucial election year.
An OpenAI blog article showcasing speech Engine states that it can mimic a person’s speech from a 15-second audio clip.
However, the ChatGPT inventor is taking a cautious and informed approach to the technology and intends to initiate a debate on the responsible deployment of synthetic voices, according to the company’s blog post published on Friday.
The San Francisco-based start-up stated we acknowledge that generating speech that resembles people’s voices has serious risks, which are especially top of mind in an election year.
To make sure we are taking their feedback into account as we build, we are interacting with both domestic and foreign partners in the fields of government, media, entertainment, education, civil society and other areas.
OpenAI stated that it will make a more informed decision about implementing the technology at scale based on testing and public debate.
The business continued by saying that it thinks the technology should only be implemented with safeguards in place to guarantee that the original speaker is knowingly adding their voice to the service and to stop voices that are too similar to prominent figures from being created.
The abuse of artificial intelligence has emerged as a key issue ahead of this year’s elections in nations that account for almost half of the global population.
In January, a political operator supporting long-shot US presidential contender Dean Phillips sent out a robocall imitating US President Joe Biden and urging voters not to vote in New Hampshire’s Democratic primary.
OpenAI stated that it has added various safety safeguards for its partners testing Voice Engine, “including watermarking to trace the origin of any audio generated by Voice Engine, as well as proactive monitoring of how it’s being used”.
