In recent news, OpenAI has unveiled its innovative Voice Engine technology that can replicate a person’s voice with just 15 seconds of recording. However, due to safety concerns and the potential for misuse, the company has decided not to release it publicly at this time. Instead, they plan to preview the technology with early testers while taking caution about its use during an election year.
The dangers of voice-cloning technology were highlighted in a recent incident where AI-generated voices were used in robocalls sent to voters in New Hampshire before the presidential primary. This highlights the need for caution when it comes to voice-cloning technology and its potential misuse.
While other startup companies already sell similar voice-cloning technology, OpenAI’s approach involves early testers agreeing not to impersonate a person without their consent. The company has also taken a similar approach with its video-generator Sora, announcing but not widely releasing the technology.
Despite not releasing the Voice Engine technology to the public, a trademark application filed in March suggests that OpenAI is looking to get into the business of speech recognition and digital voice assistant technology. This move could potentially position OpenAI to compete with existing voice products like Amazon’s Alexa in the future.
