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Project Gutenberg has implemented one of the worst AI fears of striking actors

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Re: Project Gutenberg has implemented one of the worst AI fears of striking actors

#71

Post by HPsquared »

dieselgate wrote: post #70
idopmstuff wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It seems consumers should be able to choose between an AI narrated and human narrated audio book - given equal access to both. If humans want human narrated books, they'll get access to both. Human narration will only disappear if people aren't willing to pay for it. I'm pretty sure that ultimately AI narration will be so much better that human reading will be a niche thing, but I view that as a positive overall. M…

> I'm pretty sure that ultimately AI narration will be so much better that human reading will be a niche thing, but I view that as a positive overall. Respect your opinion but hope that's not the case.

I've found a few audiobooks on Audible with narration so bad (mostly failure to properly parse sentences, putting emphasis in the wrong place) that an AI version made by random people on YouTube is superior.

Re: Project Gutenberg has implemented one of the worst AI fears of striking actors

#72

Post by contravariant »

giantg2 wrote: post #54
contravariant wrote: post #8

This article is disparaging Project Gutenberg so badly that to me it almost seems to be trying to hurt the cause of the actors currently on strike. Spreading FUD about text-to-speech technology that is not completely lifeless is a bit like blaming google translate or OCR programs from taking away jobs. Making stuff that takes a lot of effort virtually effortless is a massive gain to humanity, especially for people wh…

"Making stuff that takes a lot of effort virtually effortless is a massive gain to humanity" Sure, and having AI generated movies and stuff would reduce the physical and human resources needed to make movies. In either case, the people who lose those jobs won't be happy about it, despite the gain to humanity.

Well they don't have to be happy about it, heck I think it's more than fair they protest when technology impacts their livelihoods. There's even some valid concerns about the way some of these models are trained or exploited.

But this instance is a terrible fight to pick. You'll be pitting a fight against a non-profit, accessibility software, a public domain library, on the basis that a computer is doing too good a job reading a book out loud.

Re: Project Gutenberg has implemented one of the worst AI fears of striking actors

#73

Post by onecommentman »

1MachineElf wrote: post #2

Listening to an audiobook narrated by an AI voice can get old after a few hours. There is absolutely still hope for traditional voice narration, especially if different voice actors want to voice different characters in the story.

You should listen to these Project Gutenberg audiotexts…they are really pretty good. I would have no problem listening to them for an extended period. The real challenge Project Gutenberg faced was automating the removal of the random metadata noise from the original plain text versions of the content. And it will continually improve from acceptably good to excellent in short order with perhaps a tiny amount of hand tuning.

It isn’t just the blind who benefit. As you age, eyesight degrades and the mind dulls. At some point, audiobooks are a real boon, especially with PD texts where you can read until you get tired, then listen. Also the growing demographic of live-alone elderly like the background sounds of people talking in their residence, explaining part of the popularity of talk radio. They feel a little less lonely. These audiotexts provide an intellectually varied and overall healthier option. It seems like an Absolute Good to me.

Re: Project Gutenberg has implemented one of the worst AI fears of striking actors

#74

Post by msp26 »

duskwuff wrote: post #62
msp26 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't that be caused by an OCR issue? No matter how primitive I doubt a TTS model would mistake I for 1. The book was probably poorly scanned, OCRed, and then had automated audiogen.

> No matter how primitive I doubt a TTS model would mistake I for 1. "I" is the correct text, but it's intended as a Roman numeral and should be read as "one". (And, a few chapters later, "IV" should be read as "four", not "intravenous".)

Ah thanks for clarifying

Re: Project Gutenberg has implemented one of the worst AI fears of striking actors

#75

Post by WalterBright »

namaria wrote: post #59
WalterBright wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe we should all go back to hand making our own soap, too, instead of having cut-rate profiteering industry do it. https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning/a20705805/how... We should also go back to making our own thread, weaving our own cloth, and sewing our own clothes. Naaah.

I see you opted for a reduction ad absurdum. Never mind comparing manufacture of soap bars to creative output of voice actors.

Nearly all jobs today were enabled by the automation of previous activities.

Re: Project Gutenberg has implemented one of the worst AI fears of striking actors

#77

Post by idopmstuff »

HPsquared wrote: post #71
dieselgate wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm pretty sure that ultimately AI narration will be so much better that human reading will be a niche thing, but I view that as a positive overall. Respect your opinion but hope that's not the case.

I've found a few audiobooks on Audible with narration so bad (mostly failure to properly parse sentences, putting emphasis in the wrong place) that an AI version made by random people on YouTube is superior.

For non-bestsellers, I think it'll be 100% AI narration. If human narration remains, it'll be top-tier books read by the most famous/best voice actors/narrators.
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