Spotify to Clone Podcasters’ Voices Using AI, Translate Into Different Languages

• Spotify is launching a new feature called “Voice Translations” powered by AI including ChatGPT.
• The feature will replicate the voices of podcasters and translate them into different languages.
• Spotify said that this will create a more “authentic listening experience,” for its users. 

Spotify is rolling out a new AI feature mimicking the original voice of podcasters and translating them into additional languages for a more “authentic listening experience,” the company announced Monday in a blog post. 

The new feature, called Voice Translations, is powered by AI and matches the voice and style of the original speaker so it “sounds more personal and natural than traditional dubbing,” according to the blog. 

It also relies on OpenAI’s new voice generation technology which enables ChatGPT to craft “realistic synthetic voices from just a few seconds of real speech,” also just released on Monday. 

“A podcast episode originally recorded in English can now be available in other languages while keeping the speaker’s distinctive speech characteristics,” per Spotify’s blog. 

Spotify is working with podcasters like Dax Shepard, Monica Padman, Lex Fridman, Bill Simmons and Steven Bartlett to produce voice translations for specific episodes in languages such as Spanish, French, and German. 

The episodes will be available to both Spotify Premium and free users. 

Bill Simmons, founder of the Spotify-owned podcast network The Ringer, hinted in May that Spotify also planned to use AI trained on the voices of hosts to generate targeted ads for users. 

There have been mounting concerns in the entertainment industry about the impact of AI being used to clone the voices of musicians, actors, and presenters without their consent or providing financial compensation. 

In April AI-generated songs using Canadian rapper Drake’s voice went viral on social media, including a “collaboration” between him and The Weeknd, and another of him singing an Ice Spice song.

Actor and comedian Stephen Fry also recently said that an AI had ingested his readings of the “Harry Potter” books and subsequently recreated his voice.