Based on the 15-second recording, the program can create a "emotive and realistic" natural-sounding voice that closely resembles the original speaker. This synthetic voice can then be used to read text inputs, even if the text isn't in the original speaker's native language. In one example offered by the company, an English speaker's voice was translated into Spanish, Mandarin, German, French and Japanese while preserving the speaker's native accent.
OpenAI said Voice Engine has so far been used to provide reading assistance to non-readers, translate content and to help people who are non-verbal. It said the program has already been used in its text-to-speech application and its ChatGPT Voice and Read Aloud tool. "We hope to start a dialogue on the responsible deployment of synthetic voices, and how society can adapt to these new capabilities," the company said. "Based on these conversations and the results of these small scale tests, we will make a more informed decision about whether and how to deploy this technology at scale."
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