Live data from Hacker News

Lyrebird – An API to copy the voice of anyone

lyrebird.ai

121–130 of 311 posts

Re: Lyrebird – An API to copy the voice of anyone

#121

While all of these vec2speech type models are impressive, I get the feeling that most of the comments didn't listen to any of the samples. It's still distinctly robotic sounding, probably has quite a bit of garbage output that needs to be filtered manually (as many of these nets often have) and is a far cry from fooling a human.

It might just be about the quality of the source. It seems they used public speeches. Obama sounds like he stands in a stadium. Trump is closer like a TV debate. Hillary sounds off to me, though.

Re: Lyrebird – An API to copy the voice of anyone

#123
post #19

It's there any copyright protections for a person's voice? If not, David Attenborough and Morgan Freeman will be lead voice actors in my next game project

In the UK there's a common law thing called "passing off" that's used to protect unregistered IP from impersonation. It's already used to protect unauthorised abuse of voice actors IP.

I'm pretty sure "passing off" requires the seller to be fraudulently claiming the goods are the goods of someone else, that if you up-front say "the voices used are generated by computer algorithm and do not represent any real person" that a claim of passing off would be rendered moot.

Trademark/Copyright can't be disclaimed in this way but Passing Off requires active deception AIUI?

Re: Lyrebird – An API to copy the voice of anyone

#124

While all of these vec2speech type models are impressive, I get the feeling that most of the comments didn't listen to any of the samples. It's still distinctly robotic sounding, probably has quite a bit of garbage output that needs to be filtered manually (as many of these nets often have) and is a far cry from fooling a human.

I think the editing manually is something people with resources and motives will do anyways.

I can see something like this, if not already used, for propaganda.

Tin Foil hat is on

Re: Lyrebird – An API to copy the voice of anyone

#125
post #4

Impressive. But also enabling the next gen of "Mom, I'm in Mexican jail. Quickly wire me $2,000 so I can get out." scams.

Or 1) planting evidence (no need for extended wire taps, 2) voice recognition software for access control, and 3) nearly any other fraud that will exploit the acceptance/authorization of verbal consent.

Re: Lyrebird – An API to copy the voice of anyone

#126
Last week on BBC Radio 4 I heard of a woman who was losing her voice through disease (MND maybe?), a similar system was being anticipated and she was saving voice samples to seed it with.

She had been a singer and strongly identified her self with her voice, she wanted to be able to use a speech synthesis system that had her own voice pattern.

Apologies if this was already mentioned, but it seems to be a use others here hadn't considered.

Re: Lyrebird – An API to copy the voice of anyone

#127

While all of these vec2speech type models are impressive, I get the feeling that most of the comments didn't listen to any of the samples. It's still distinctly robotic sounding, probably has quite a bit of garbage output that needs to be filtered manually (as many of these nets often have) and is a far cry from fooling a human.

In the first clip, I'd say 80% of the soundbites were obviously robot-like, but one or two of the "Obama" quotes were startlingly clear - "The good news is, that they will offer the technology to anyone" - I can't hear anything wrong with that in the first clip at all. If they were all that quality I'd say we'd be easily fooled. As a proof of concept this is pretty big.

The "Obama" material sounded quite good, but reverb can cover up a multitude of sins...

Re: Lyrebird – An API to copy the voice of anyone

#129
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Forget dead husbands, with this tech, it will be hard to trust anything a politician said. Basically, once they master adding this to video, ANYTHING could be construed against anyone. Want a video of a politician saying "Hitler was right" to cheering masses? Want a video about a president saying it's time to start Nuclear War One? You can make that.

We already couldn't trust anything a politician said! But indeed, this is the moral equivalent of how Photoshop has nearly undermined photographic evidence. That leaves video, and it's starting to succumb. Synthetic video AI politician, well, Robert Heinlein wrote _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ in 1966.

> Photoshop has nearly undermined photographic evidence

No it hasn't, not at all.

Re: Lyrebird – An API to copy the voice of anyone

#130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't be comfortable watching a movie scene if I knew I was looking at computer-generated faces and voices.

Did you feel that way when seeing Grand Moff Tarkin on "Rogue One"? https://www.wired.com/video/2017/02/how-rogue-one-recreated-...

Yes? I missed literally all his dialogue because he was so poorly animated I couldn't take my mind off it. So out of place and jarring.
Post reply on HN