Taking a Stand Against Voice Cloning
Humans are essentially copy machines. We learn by mimicking those around us, especially our parents. But even though we copy their mannerisms, behaviors, and speech patterns, we never become exact copies of them. And thank goodness for that!
Can you imagine how weird it would be if, after spending some time in the crib, your child suddenly became an exact clone of you?
If they looked exactly like you, behaved exactly like you, and even spoke exactly like you? It would be creepy, to say the least. And what if the other you did things you’d rather not? That’s not a pleasant thought, right?
Raising your voice against something that has become the norm in an industry can be a daunting task. But at DAISYS, we believe in doing what is right, not what is easy. That’s why we are taking a stand against the unethical practice of cloning voices for text-to-speech technology.
It’s not hard to see why this is such a controversial issue. By cloning someone’s voice, you can essentially make them say anything you want. It’s a power that can be misused in countless ways, and recent technological developments have shown that people are already creating deepfakes and voice clones of famous people to do just that.
But it’s not only about the misuse of famous voices. It’s about fair compensation for voice actors, who are usually just considered as training ingredients for the datasets in text-to-speech neural networks and are asked to sign their rights away for a small amount of money.
At DAISYS, we believe that speech technology should be ethical, fair, and sustainable for all parties involved. That’s why we’re taking a stand against voice cloning, the technology that almost every speech tech company around the world is now using to make their text-to-speech products sound like human speech.
Now, you might be wondering why we are so passionate about this issue. The truth is, it’s not just about the technology. It’s about something much deeper. It’s about the soul.
For Native Americans, being photographed was seen as an invasion of their soul. They believed that a part of their essence was captured in the image and that this was something that should not be taken lightly. And for many indigenous peoples around the world today, the same belief still holds true. Creating deepfakes or voice clones of someone’s voice essentially does the same thing. It’s an invasion of the soul, and it’s wrong.
At DAISYS, we believe in doing things differently. We don’t make voice clones at all. Instead, we generate completely new voices that don’t exist. It’s a bit like the website thispersondoesnotexist.com but for voices. We believe that this is the best way to ensure that speech technology is fair, sustainable, and ethical
But we don’t just want to take a stand against voice cloning — we want to do more. We believe that voice actors should be partners in this exciting new technology, and that’s why we offer them the possibility to become owners of DAISYS.
We recognize that some of the repetitive work that is now done by voice actors will be done by AI soon. And rather than leaving voice actors out in the cold, we want to involve them in this new paradigm shift. By becoming owners of our company, voice actors can help shape the future of speech technology and ensure that it remains fair, ethical, and sustainable.
So let’s be clear: voice cloning is not sustainable, and it’s not fair. It’s dangerous, and it’s time for a change, and DAISYS is leading the way.
We believe in creating a future for speech technology that is fair, ethical, and sustainable. And we hope that you will join us in this important mission.
In my next blog, I’m going to tell you about how our speech technology combined with large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT is going to completely change your future.
Stay tuned!
Barnier Geerling
CEO | DAISYS
Voicing the Future Now
www.daisys.ai
