Text-to-voice technology and vocal cloning is a phenomenon that is something that I have never seen before and never knew it was so easily accessible by basically anyone who has access to the internet. Lyrebird has led these innovations and is now one of, if not the, most progressive companies in this field. I feel this technology has both benefits and drawbacks. Text-to-voice and vocal cloning can be used to aid society in a variety of ways, such as those with difficulty speaking (such as Lyrebird’s partnership with people diagnosed with ALS), audiobooks, brand voices, and video games. However, there are also risks that come along with this technology. The first and most obvious would be the ability for others to create audio clips of another person’s voice to say things that they have never and would never say in an attempt to slander them. A very easy example of this would be political elections. Lyrebird also states that the audio clips any person submits to them are completely safe and never shared with anyone. I believe this is a feature that is necessary in all companies that may pursue vocal cloning in the future to ensure the safety of its users. Lyrebird also says that their technology is still in its early stages, which makes me eager to see just how advanced this field will become in the near future as the vocal cloning they have already produced is truly amazing.
