
Morgan Freeman.
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when I mention that name? Likely Morgan Freeman’s iconic voice. Known for his soothing, ever-consistent voice, Freeman is just one of many actors who illustrate the importance of actual human voice actors.
Put simply, Siri could never. Nor could Alexa, nor could Cortana.
I produce this article in response to the following question from an external source: “Can artificial intelligence replace voice talent?”
What do you think?
Can artificial intelligence replace voice talent?
The world of voice acting is an ever-evolving one. And as with any profession, it’s necessary to consider whether human roles will one day be filled by artificially intelligent “counterparts”.
I’d like to pose why I think that could never happen.
But don’t worry, I’ll keep things brief.
Sure, robots can verbally guide us to destinations via Google Maps or Apple Maps. Sure, they can provide verbal translations via translation apps. And heck, they can even make for some pretty funny voiceovers on Tiktok videos and Instagram reels.
But as far as I’m concerned, a robotic rendition of any voice will never be considered “voice talent“. It’s merely speaking– and often, a poorly expressed way of doing so.
Robots will never be able to capture the emotion that humans who have trained for years are able to deliver in just one or two words.
Artificial intelligence will never be able to express something that it itself has never experienced.
In the same way that you wouldn’t be moved by a “struggling motherhood” speech delivered by a young man, you wouldn’t be moved by an AI voice pretending to convey the complexities of human emotions.
There are so many nuances to the human voice. Between tone, pitch, rate, volume, articulation, pronunciation, and fluency, there’s a whole lot that goes into vibrating one’s vocal cords.
Vocal expression is so far from “black and white” that even voices programmed to sound a certain emotion would fail to capture the underlying feelings at home.
I don’t know about y’all, but never in my life have I ever experienced a single emotion in its entirety and wholeness, with no space for even the smallest hint of another.
So once again, Siri, Alexa, and Cortana could never.
I rest my case.
Before you head out
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