Just last month after Apple released a suite of AI audiobooks, The Guardian reported that it might be a new era for machine-generated voices to compete with human narrators.
If AI-generated voices will be used in this scheme, then the voice actors might become replaceable by any means.
Some audiobook narrators fear that this alone is enough to shut down the industry, let alone the damage that it might cause to the affected employees.
Audiobook Narrators Fear AI Might Replace Them
The Guardian wrote in its previous report that AI audiobooks can be described as pieces "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator."
Before this became a reality, Apple did not reveal its involvement in the project. It's only after some time that the company finally said that it will be in charge of shouldering the cost of production for this technology.
After learning that Apple and Findaway, a known distributor of audiobooks under Spotify, have a deal about AI audiobooks, some narrators think that this is very bad news for them.
According to Wired, the contract between the two companies will only mean one thing: Spotify can now use its audiobook recordings to train a machine-learning model.
What got under their skin is that Apple did not inform them about the clause. Particularly, the Cupertino firm did not tell us that their original voices will be used to create synthetic voices for the materials.
Gary Furlong, an audiobook narrator who lives in Texas says that the situation was very disheartening for his fellow authors.
In an interview with WIRED, Kansas-based narrator Andy Garcia-Ruse said that using their voices to train an AI is a violation.
Apple Aborts Access to Audiobook Files
With the controversy surrounding AI, Apple decided to step away from the talk of the town. The company, along with Findaway, gave a green light to halt the "use of files for machine learning purposes."
With this, Apple did not push through anymore in accessing Findaway's files for AI training.
According to SAG-AFTRA's national director for audiobooks, Jane Love, the newly-acquired startup is talking with the union regarding their concerns. She expects that Findaway can think of a better solution that will give them "appropriate compensation," and safe storage for their data.
When Spotify was asked about the issue, it did not answer. Apple did not respond either about the same problem.
Commonality of AI Training Models in Many Industries
Outside the audiobook industry, voice actors have been relying on AI models to improve their narration.
Training an AI model in the field of gaming and entertainment is already a common thing, per National Association of Voice Actors president Tim Friedlander.
Tim added that this is how some of the narrators earn money. The worst thing about this is that some of them use the recordings without asking for a permission.
If synthetic voice technology takes over the actual recorders, then the job of the narrators might be in peril.
Perhaps, some of them could see some light in using an AI especially if all they want is to improve the quality of their voice. However, entirely replacing them on the scene will spell layoffs for the recording companies.
