OpenAI Launches Voice Cloning Tool

According to OpenAI's blog post sharing the results of a small-scale test of the "Voice Engine," the tool can essentially clone someone's voice based on a 15-second audio sample.

OpenAI acknowledges that voice generation poses serious risks, especially in an election year. However, the company says it is working with domestic and international partners from government, media, entertainment, education, civil society and other sectors to gather feedback and build a safe tool.

OpenAI says it has implemented a suite of safety measures, including marking the origin of any audio generated by Voice Engine as well as actively monitoring how the tool is used.

Disinformation researchers are concerned about the risks of widespread abuse of AI-powered apps in a crucial election year, as voice-cloning tools become increasingly cheap, easy to use and difficult to trace. One example is an AI-generated call, the brainchild of a lobbyist for Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips, that sounded like President Joe Biden urging people not to vote in the New Hampshire primary in January 2024. The incident has experts worried about a wave of AI-generated deepfakes (fake audio or video) in the 2024 race for the White House and other major elections around the world this year.