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Launch HN: Play.ht (YC W23) – Generate and clone voices from 20 seconds of audio

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Re: Launch HN: Play.ht (YC W23) – Generate and clone voices from 20 seconds of audio

#261

Post by palata »

VoodooJuJu wrote: post #35
phkahler wrote: post #18

This is the first startup here where I think the tech should essentially be illegal. It's cool tech, yes I'm impressed at the achievement. Nuclear weapons are impressive too. OTOH this kind of thing is getting easier and easier to do, so what's a realistic way forward?

>Introducing the National Postal Service - send a letter to anyone for a nominal fee. No need for a personal courier, armed escort, or patrician status. >This is the kind of thing that should be illegal. Now, any Plebian could essentially write a letter to anyone, impersonating anyone. Forged letters could drag us into a war with Persia - for Jupiter's sake!

You completely miss the point: scale.

Try to deceive people by learning about their contacts, writing a convincing letter and sending it. How long does it take you to prepare one letter?

Now those AIs potentially allow you to just generate millions of those with one click. The problem is the scale: everyone can do it at no cost and at scale.

Re: Launch HN: Play.ht (YC W23) – Generate and clone voices from 20 seconds of audio

#262

Post by mikrotikker »

twodave wrote: post #256
Pxtl wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like this will be the thing that finally forces digital signing into the public eye. "Wait, is that video real?" "Well, it was signed by a reputable news source."

Right, which leads to a place where nothing is trusted unless it came from some central authority or from some trusted piece of hardware. I'm not looking forward to the day when I have to use e.g. an Apple or Google piece of hardware or some locked down kiosk or "be famous" in order to conduct business.

I'll be living in a cabin in the woods by that point.

Re: Launch HN: Play.ht (YC W23) – Generate and clone voices from 20 seconds of audio

#263

Post by Pxtl »

twodave wrote: post #256
Pxtl wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like this will be the thing that finally forces digital signing into the public eye. "Wait, is that video real?" "Well, it was signed by a reputable news source."

Right, which leads to a place where nothing is trusted unless it came from some central authority or from some trusted piece of hardware. I'm not looking forward to the day when I have to use e.g. an Apple or Google piece of hardware or some locked down kiosk or "be famous" in order to conduct business.

The film industry has been pointing cameras at screens for decades. Trusted hardware won't work.

Re: Launch HN: Play.ht (YC W23) – Generate and clone voices from 20 seconds of audio

#264

Post by mikrotikker »

skybrian wrote: post #48
phkahler wrote: post #18

This is the first startup here where I think the tech should essentially be illegal. It's cool tech, yes I'm impressed at the achievement. Nuclear weapons are impressive too. OTOH this kind of thing is getting easier and easier to do, so what's a realistic way forward?

You may get your wish. The FTC posted an article about this a week ago. [1] > The FTC Act’s prohibition on deceptive or unfair conduct can apply if you make, sell, or use a tool that is effectively designed to deceive – even if that’s not its intended or sole purpose. It seems like an awfully broad rule? But they probably could go after this startup if they noticed it. There are some kinds of businesses where making…

[flagged]

Re: Launch HN: Play.ht (YC W23) – Generate and clone voices from 20 seconds of audio

#265

Post by muyuu »

KaiserPro wrote: post #234
Dowwie wrote: post #118

I recommend you immediately add identity verification (state-issued identification verification), set up appropriate secrets store for PII, and audit trail EVERYTHING your users are doing, storing the contents in a secure location. Yesterday. This service will be used to harm others, shortly. I do think that there are exciting, honest things that can be done with this service but you need to set up some friction for…

Like this example here: https://playground.play.ht/listen/1554 which says: > "Hi Mom, I need some help. Some guys hit me over the head and put me in a van, and they're saying they'll kill me if you don't wire money to this bank account." top class. EDIT this was about one page down on the "see what people are generating" page

On the bright side, it's not a very convincing rendition of a human.

Re: Launch HN: Play.ht (YC W23) – Generate and clone voices from 20 seconds of audio

#266

Post by mikrotikker »

burkaman wrote: post #23
phkahler wrote: post #18

This is the first startup here where I think the tech should essentially be illegal. It's cool tech, yes I'm impressed at the achievement. Nuclear weapons are impressive too. OTOH this kind of thing is getting easier and easier to do, so what's a realistic way forward?

I guess eventually people will go back to only meeting face to face for important communications. I don't know what the way forward is for news. I truly do not understand people like these founders, obviously they understand the future they're creating. "If not us, someone else would do it" is not an excuse. Neither is "I like money".

I stopped trusting the news years ago, between whoring out for engaging but divisive content and obvious political bias, it's been a crapshoot since GWBs cronies gutted the FCC.

Re: Launch HN: Play.ht (YC W23) – Generate and clone voices from 20 seconds of audio

#267

Post by mikrotikker »

alcover wrote: post #215
burkaman wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess eventually people will go back to only meeting face to face for important communications. I don't know what the way forward is for news. I truly do not understand people like these founders, obviously they understand the future they're creating. "If not us, someone else would do it" is not an excuse. Neither is "I like money".

> face to face for important communications Funny how computing perfected communication and ultimately will undermine itself. > I don't know what the way forward is for news. I'd say every packet of voice/img will have to be signed by the recording device and checked at rendering time. > I truly do not understand people like these founders Me neither. Don't do it. We don't need that, and the malevolent use of this wi…

This is democratising the tech. Otherwise only the intelligence agencies will have it and we will continue to be duped not knowing what is possible.

Re: Launch HN: Play.ht (YC W23) – Generate and clone voices from 20 seconds of audio

#268

Post by pseudo0 »

manuelmoreale wrote: post #251
exolymph wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who says it has to be someone else's voice?

I mean, if it is your voice, can’t you just record it directly? Isn’t that better than going through an artificial middle man that has to be primed first with some recording of yours?

It would be a huge time saver. Typically a pro does around 100 lines per hour, an amateur doing multiple takes would be significantly slower. So a character with 1000 lines could easily be 20-30 hours of work, just for a first draft. It would be pretty amazing to be able to just revise the script and auto-generate a new recording, even if the quality is only 90% there.

Just like with image generation models, this will massively raise the bar for what amateurs can do with a limited budget and limited time. It's hard to justify spending thousands of dollars on voice acting and art for a hobby project, but now amateurs can get something that is 90% there and substitute professional work if the project takes off.

Re: Launch HN: Play.ht (YC W23) – Generate and clone voices from 20 seconds of audio

#269

Post by mikrotikker »

anoonmoose wrote: post #226
JohnFen wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm unclear as to what your point is, then...

you said: "This sort of technology literally makes it impossible to trust anything electronic." we said: "No, because there is also technology that makes it possible to trust anything electronic with very nearly 100% reliability. But no one uses it" I think your first statement is both technically wrong and generally wrong. Electronic trust is a solved problem...it's just that right now, it's really not as big a deal…

You can short circuit all that shit by merely compromising the device.
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