Generate audiobooks from E-books with Kokoro-82M • Hacker News Board

Re: Generate audiobooks from E-books with Kokoro-82M

#121

Post by thoroughburro » Wed, Jan 15, 2025, 1:17 PM UTC

megaloblasto wrote: post #98

littlestymaar wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given that the printing press was the root cause for the century of religious wars that soaked Europe with blood, and was key in the revolutions that overthrown absolute monarchies all over Europe, I don't think it's as good as an example as you think it is. Death of a civilization doesn't mean disappearance of mankind or even overall regression on the long term.

Do you have a source for that? I don't think the printing press was the cause of religious wars any more than bullets were the cause of WWII

This is common enough knowledge that “read, like, any history” is an appropriate response. However, if you’re genuinely curious, here’s a random link:

https://ehne.fr/en/encyclopedia/themes/european-humanism/eur...

Re: Generate audiobooks from E-books with Kokoro-82M

#122

Post by cliftonpowell » Wed, Jan 15, 2025, 1:17 PM UTC

There's another project called ebook2audiobook that has produces some decent results.

Re: Generate audiobooks from E-books with Kokoro-82M

#123

Post by Melomomololo » Wed, Jan 15, 2025, 1:18 PM UTC

lupusreal wrote: post #85

aredox wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bingo. AI is going to destroy any pathway for training and accruing experience. An embalming tech for our dying civilization.

Just like printing presses killed the profession of copying books by hand, eliminating the training pathway for illuminated manuscripts. Death of civilization itself I say, damn those printing presses.

[dead]

Re: Generate audiobooks from E-books with Kokoro-82M

#124

Post by WillAdams » Wed, Jan 15, 2025, 1:21 PM UTC

laserbeam wrote: post #21

On the one hand, this is very convenient. Probably cool for some non-fiction. On the other, some of my favorite audio books all stood out because the narrator was interpreting the text really well, for example by changing the pacing during chaotic moments. Or those audiobooks with multiple narrators and different voices for each character. Not to mention that sometimes the only cue you get for who's speaking during d…

Yes, but if the alternative is not having a book, or having to listen to one poorly read (I love Librivox, but there are some books which I just haven't been able to finish because of readers, and many more which were nixed for family vacation travel listening on that account), this may be workable.

Re: Generate audiobooks from E-books with Kokoro-82M

#125

Post by gampleman » Wed, Jan 15, 2025, 1:22 PM UTC

oldgradstudent wrote: post #119

lupusreal wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just like printing presses killed the profession of copying books by hand, eliminating the training pathway for illuminated manuscripts. Death of civilization itself I say, damn those printing presses.

There's a big difference. Printing presses produce superior products. A mediocre audiobook is certainly better than no audiobook at all, but it is an inferior product to a well produced audiobook.

> Printing presses produce superior products.

That seems like a highly dubitable statement. Many hand illuminated manuscripts are masterpieces of art. The advantage of the printing press was chiefly economical making the cost of a copy dramatically less, not an increase in quality (especially so by the aesthetical standards of the time).

Re: Generate audiobooks from E-books with Kokoro-82M

#126

Post by iagooar » Wed, Jan 15, 2025, 1:37 PM UTC

october8140 wrote: post #41

All these AI text to voice models seem to ignore emotion. It always sounds like a robot.

I wonder if AI could create a "commentary" script that instructs the TTS how to read certain words or chapters. The commentary would be like an additional meta-track to help the TTS make the best reading.

That should actually be possible to do already with existing tech. I haven't seen if you can instruct Kokoro to read in a certain way, does anyone know if this is possible?

Re: Generate audiobooks from E-books with Kokoro-82M

#127

Post by sam_lowry_ » Wed, Jan 15, 2025, 1:43 PM UTC

j4coh wrote: post #64

stavros wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On the other, some of my favorite audio books all stood out because the narrator was interpreting the text really well This (and everything else with AI) isn't saying "you don't need good actors any more". It's saying "if you don't have an audiobook, you can make a mediocre one automatically". AI (text, images, videos, whatever) doesn't replace the top end, it replaces the entire bottom-to-middle end.

RIP to future top-enders that would normally have started out on the bottom to middle end.

> RIP to future top-enders that would normally have started out on the bottom to middle end.

This stance always reminds me of the Profession, a 1957 novella by Isaac Asimov that depicts pretty much the future where there are only top performers and the ignorant crowd.

Re: Generate audiobooks from E-books with Kokoro-82M

#128

Post by akho » Wed, Jan 15, 2025, 1:44 PM UTC

j4coh wrote: post #86

lupusreal wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just like printing presses killed the profession of copying books by hand, eliminating the training pathway for illuminated manuscripts. Death of civilization itself I say, damn those printing presses.

If you see podcasts as useless in modern society as illuminated manuscripts, no big loss I suppose, but I do enjoy the human made ones and would be sad to see them go extinct as the manuscripts did. And the same thing is happening to other entry-level creative roles, some of which you may personally regret the loss of too.

I enjoy looking at illuminated manuscripts. Podcasts are bullshit and can die in a ditch.

Re: Generate audiobooks from E-books with Kokoro-82M

#129

Post by sam_lowry_ » Wed, Jan 15, 2025, 1:45 PM UTC

numpad0 wrote: post #84

stavros wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On the other, some of my favorite audio books all stood out because the narrator was interpreting the text really well This (and everything else with AI) isn't saying "you don't need good actors any more". It's saying "if you don't have an audiobook, you can make a mediocre one automatically". AI (text, images, videos, whatever) doesn't replace the top end, it replaces the entire bottom-to-middle end.

AI TTS has been available for quite some time. Tacotron V1 is about 8 years old. I don't think we saw much bottom end replacement. IMGO(gut opinion), generative AI is a consumption aid, like a strong antacid. It lets us be done with $content quicker, for content = {book, art, noisy_email, coding_task}. There's obvious preconceptions forming among us all from "generative" nomenclature, but lots of surviving usages are…

Yeah, let us not blame AI. Audible damaged the quality of audiobooks than AI.

Re: Generate audiobooks from E-books with Kokoro-82M

#130

Post by xyproto » Wed, Jan 15, 2025, 1:46 PM UTC

sam_lowry_ wrote: post #127

j4coh wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

RIP to future top-enders that would normally have started out on the bottom to middle end.

> RIP to future top-enders that would normally have started out on the bottom to middle end. This stance always reminds me of the Profession, a 1957 novella by Isaac Asimov that depicts pretty much the future where there are only top performers and the ignorant crowd.

He was a clear thinker.