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The Project Gutenberg Open Audiobook Collection

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Re: The Project Gutenberg Open Audiobook Collection

#21

Post by ghaff »

atrus wrote: post #18
low_tech_love wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am an avid consumer of audiobooks and I will never pay/listen to anything AI-generated. Maybe it's just me, I don't know, but just because they have shown that it is technically feasible, that doesn't mean that there is a market for it. I am skeptical. Listening to audiobooks is already a compromise over reading the book, listening to an AI-generated audiobook sounds to me like a bit too much. But let's see.

You'll never pay/listen to anything you're able to identify as AI-generated.

Obviously there are lots of short snippets of audio that are machine generated. But, no, at the current state of the art I'm not going to listen to a machine generated audiobook much less pay for it.

Re: The Project Gutenberg Open Audiobook Collection

#24

Post by Borrible »

jawns wrote: post #19
Borrible wrote: post #16

Sounded better than the handful of random corresponding Librivox recordings I listened to in order to compare them. To be honest, a lot of people go to great lengths to make Librivox recordings without having the skills to read aloud. Which is a pity, but nonetheless.

I agree. I love the idea of Librivox, but the volunteers vary widely in quality. Some are non-native English speakers, some have lisps or other articulation problems, some have other marks of fluency deficiencies, some have under- or over-dramatic intonation, etc. And even if they're perfect voice actors, often their microphone setups are sub-par, and it comes through in the recording. Frankly, these AI voices are no…

Absolutely.

So, will your books be available with an audio section as a free encore in the future? :)

Re: The Project Gutenberg Open Audiobook Collection

#25

Post by prepend »

xrd wrote: post #20

When I read Rikki Tikki Tavi to my 8 yr old daughter, we play a game. She asks me to change one of the words in the page and she tries to listen and see if she can figure it out. It is mentally taxing at the end of a long day to do that on the fly without pausing to figure out the word to slip in. And, my daughter is very sharp and catches them. I listened to a few of these. The voice sounds muted at times, as if the…

> But, we should ask if you would want to hang out with the voice actor at a party.

I think the question is really “Will I be able to enjoy great books I otherwise would not have experienced?”

For me, it’s not that these are superior or equivalent books to parents reading to their kid or voice actors; it’s whether I’ll listen to a book for free that I wouldn’t be able to afford $10-30.

Re: The Project Gutenberg Open Audiobook Collection

#26

Post by freedomben »

low_tech_love wrote: post #13
pjmlp wrote: post #6

Yet another example on how jobs will go away, goodbye voice actors.

I am an avid consumer of audiobooks and I will never pay/listen to anything AI-generated. Maybe it's just me, I don't know, but just because they have shown that it is technically feasible, that doesn't mean that there is a market for it. I am skeptical. Listening to audiobooks is already a compromise over reading the book, listening to an AI-generated audiobook sounds to me like a bit too much. But let's see.

I would agree but there is one big exception: books I really want to read but there's no audiobook version.

I have a particular interest in early Mormon history and the history of the western US, and there are some really great books that aren't available as audio. I ended up generating some with aws and while the voice annoyed me, I was willing to do it, and the cost was much higher than a normal audiobook would cost.

I think in reality, the more popular books will get a pro reading, but as long as it's labeled, there will be a market for ai audiobooks.

Re: The Project Gutenberg Open Audiobook Collection

#27

Post by prepend »

low_tech_love wrote: post #13
pjmlp wrote: post #6

Yet another example on how jobs will go away, goodbye voice actors.

I am an avid consumer of audiobooks and I will never pay/listen to anything AI-generated. Maybe it's just me, I don't know, but just because they have shown that it is technically feasible, that doesn't mean that there is a market for it. I am skeptical. Listening to audiobooks is already a compromise over reading the book, listening to an AI-generated audiobook sounds to me like a bit too much. But let's see.

It’s not for you, it’s for the millions/billions not currently listening to audiobooks.

This reminds me of the “I’ll never listen to mp3, I love my .” The goal wasn’t to convince existing people but to expand to new people.

Re: The Project Gutenberg Open Audiobook Collection

#28

Post by barrenko »

xrd wrote: post #20

When I read Rikki Tikki Tavi to my 8 yr old daughter, we play a game. She asks me to change one of the words in the page and she tries to listen and see if she can figure it out. It is mentally taxing at the end of a long day to do that on the fly without pausing to figure out the word to slip in. And, my daughter is very sharp and catches them. I listened to a few of these. The voice sounds muted at times, as if the…

We're living through the Great Enshitification.

Re: The Project Gutenberg Open Audiobook Collection

#29

Post by janekm »

xrd wrote: post #20

When I read Rikki Tikki Tavi to my 8 yr old daughter, we play a game. She asks me to change one of the words in the page and she tries to listen and see if she can figure it out. It is mentally taxing at the end of a long day to do that on the fly without pausing to figure out the word to slip in. And, my daughter is very sharp and catches them. I listened to a few of these. The voice sounds muted at times, as if the…

Elevenlabs is a lot closer to compelling audiobook narration (needs a better way to deal with multiple characters in a story without manual use of multiple voices): https://pub-a24da573c61f4b2d905bdebb2d0ecf88.r2.dev/ElevenLa... (an H.G.Wells example I just asked it to read).

Re: The Project Gutenberg Open Audiobook Collection

#30

Post by rhyme-boss »

Isn't listening to people tell stories fundamental to what we are? Wouldn't you rather be a part of a culture that cares about the difference between listening to a person's voice vs. a bot?

Edit: My concern is audio files ending up in places where they aren't clearly labelled as AI-generated.

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