Crafting AI Voices: A Personal Experiment

A friend of mine recently threw down the gauntlet, asking if I could create some AI voices. So I whipped up a few samples using the introduction text from my homepage. Now, training these voices takes a bit of time, but once you’ve got that sorted, you can convert any spoken audio—like an audiobook or your own voice—into any other voice you fancy. Imagine cruising down the highway or lounging in bed with Morgan Freeman or Carl Sagan narrating your book of choice. It’s a game-changer for folks like me who aren’t always thrilled with audiobook narrators.

For the examples below, I used my intro text in a Text-to-Speech creator and then applied different voice models.

A scary thing to think about is that it’s easy to mix this tech with live audio and video, and you could easily fool someone. The power of AI is awe-inspiring, but in the wrong hands, it can be a scammer’s dream tool. It’s crucial to stay informed about these advancements as we dive deeper into the AI era. Even the most amazing inventions can have a dark side. But enough of that—enjoy the files I’ve created. All this example does is convert the voice and does not create the mannerisms of the original person, but stay tuned for the last file where I show off adding mannerisms using my own voice.

For a final flourish, check out this custom voice note I made for my friend Jake, a Red Dead Redemption fan. I used Arthur Morgan’s voice to leave him a message a day later after sending him this video, to which he never replied —complete with references to his wife, Lientjie, and the game itself.