Since announcing a beta tool last year allowing self-published authors to generate AI "virtual voice" narrations for their ebooks, over 40,000 AI-narrated titles have flooded onto Audible,...
I definitely do not want to support this practice, but there’s no way to filter these out 😠.
One blogger cited in the report claimed converting an ebook to audio using the AI narration took just 52 minutes
This does not inspire confidence. The technology is there to do this very well, but it takes skill and effort. The technology to automate it end to end with high quality does not yet exist.
52 minutes. That’s maybe 1/10th the time it would take to listen to it. I wonder how much of these 40,000 books were even proof-listened once.
Honestly, I don’t really care if the LLM can spit out a perfect replica of Stephen Fry with every inflection and intonation possible and in the correct spots.
Tools like these can and will be used to take jobs from actual voice actors. I want no part of it.
I get where you’re coming from, but it doesn’t sit quite right with me. The whole point of technology is to save human time and effort. That should be a good thing. The problem is the capitalist hellscape that is the status quo. I don’t think we should put the onus of propping up that capitalist hellscape onto book authors. I mean, maybe that’s the easiest way to maintain the status quo, but the status quo was never sustainable in the first place.
I don’t know. This is not a fully fleshed out philosophy. At some level I’m sure it’s the same old idealism-vs-pragmatism debate.
I mean, when that time and effort is someone’s chosen profession, then there’s only so many ways it can go.
The authors are free to not release an audiobook with some soulless, robotic voice behind it and stick to print/ebook. Amazon is also free to use the AI voices as enhanced TTS for regular books, and I would be fine with that (no one expects those to sound human, and they’re not sold as audiobooks).
For me, the narrator makes the audiobook experience. As an example, pretty much all of the Revelation Space series was narrated by John Lee. One of the later books was narrated by someone else (forget their name, but they were definitely forgettable), and it just didn’t do it for me. It was an actual person, but they read it so robotically I lost interest halfway through the prologue and just read it on e-reader.
I agree on the technological advancement, but automating human creativity and emotion (yes, there’s definitely a degree of creativity in voice acting) is a bridge too far for me. An AI-narrated audiobook automatically loses 3 stars on the review lol.
Yep, it’s already happening. I did freelance voice work for a client for awhile but was replaced by a voice model because it’s vastly cheaper, even if the output is also proportionally worse.
It’s appreciated! Luckily it wasn’t my whole income, but seeing myself replaced with a really bad voice model was just gross. But hey, think of all the value it creates for shareholders!
I agree with the job loss part, but it seems like a really weak argument. What about the increase deals for the author? Many steps in progress lead to job losses, because the world changes. What’s important is to do it in a responsible manner, and I think that’s where Amazon is failing.
This does not inspire confidence. The technology is there to do this very well, but it takes skill and effort. The technology to automate it end to end with high quality does not yet exist.
52 minutes. That’s maybe 1/10th the time it would take to listen to it. I wonder how much of these 40,000 books were even proof-listened once.
Honestly, I don’t really care if the LLM can spit out a perfect replica of Stephen Fry with every inflection and intonation possible and in the correct spots.
Tools like these can and will be used to take jobs from actual voice actors. I want no part of it.
I get where you’re coming from, but it doesn’t sit quite right with me. The whole point of technology is to save human time and effort. That should be a good thing. The problem is the capitalist hellscape that is the status quo. I don’t think we should put the onus of propping up that capitalist hellscape onto book authors. I mean, maybe that’s the easiest way to maintain the status quo, but the status quo was never sustainable in the first place.
I don’t know. This is not a fully fleshed out philosophy. At some level I’m sure it’s the same old idealism-vs-pragmatism debate.
I mean, when that time and effort is someone’s chosen profession, then there’s only so many ways it can go.
The authors are free to not release an audiobook with some soulless, robotic voice behind it and stick to print/ebook. Amazon is also free to use the AI voices as enhanced TTS for regular books, and I would be fine with that (no one expects those to sound human, and they’re not sold as audiobooks).
For me, the narrator makes the audiobook experience. As an example, pretty much all of the Revelation Space series was narrated by John Lee. One of the later books was narrated by someone else (forget their name, but they were definitely forgettable), and it just didn’t do it for me. It was an actual person, but they read it so robotically I lost interest halfway through the prologue and just read it on e-reader.
Let me rephrase the issue for you and see if you have a different emotional reaction.
A person’s job was replaced with a capitalist’s robot, and now the capitalist earns all the money.
That’s how automation works. It’s just a fact of technological advancement.
If people will happily listen to it and it’s way cheaper it’s going to happen I’m afraid.
I agree on the technological advancement, but automating human creativity and emotion (yes, there’s definitely a degree of creativity in voice acting) is a bridge too far for me. An AI-narrated audiobook automatically loses 3 stars on the review lol.
I totally get where you’re coming from.
They’ll likely get banned if the quality isn’t good hopefully.
“banned”?
And most importantly it will never be creative, only recreate. Just that if you mix many many people it sounds new.
Yep, it’s already happening. I did freelance voice work for a client for awhile but was replaced by a voice model because it’s vastly cheaper, even if the output is also proportionally worse.
That sucks. Just know I’m doing my very tiny, infinitesimally small part to not support that practice.
It’s appreciated! Luckily it wasn’t my whole income, but seeing myself replaced with a really bad voice model was just gross. But hey, think of all the value it creates for shareholders!
This is the same thing that happened to scribes when the printing press was invented. It’s not going away.
I agree with the job loss part, but it seems like a really weak argument. What about the increase deals for the author? Many steps in progress lead to job losses, because the world changes. What’s important is to do it in a responsible manner, and I think that’s where Amazon is failing.