OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has recently announced its foray into the voice assistant industry with the unveiling of its new Voice Engine technology. This technology is capable of cloning a person’s voice with just 15 seconds of recording. However, due to safety concerns, OpenAI has decided not to release this technology to the public at this time.
The company plans to have early testers preview the Voice Engine, but will not widely release it due to the potential dangers of misuse. Generating speech that resembles people’s voices poses serious risks, especially in light of recent events like the AI-generated robocalls in New Hampshire during the presidential primary.
While several startups already offer voice-cloning technology to select customers, OpenAI is taking a cautious approach with its Voice Engine. Testers have agreed not to impersonate individuals without their consent and to disclose that the voices are AI-generated. This responsible approach mirrors OpenAI’s previous announcement of the video-generator Sora, which was also announced but not widely released.
OpenAI’s decision to file a trademark application for Voice Engine indicates its intention to enter the speech recognition and digital voice assistant market. This move could potentially position OpenAI as a competitor to established voice products like Amazon’s Alexa. The company has a licensing and technology agreement with The Associated Press, granting it access to part of AP’s text archives.
