"Is It Live or Is It Cloned?"
This is my 2nd of 4 blog posts about navigating life with an uncommon form of laryngitis. View the others:
By Ailene Gerhardt, MA, BCPA, CSA®, Founder, Beacon Patient Solutions LLC & Navigating Solo Network
There is a lot of talk about artificial intelligence (AI) these days – the pros, the cons, and everywhere in between. Discussions regarding its impact on work life, healthcare, education, aging and more permeate the internet.
Like many of us, I use AI tools for personal and professional purposes: voice command in my home, voice dictation on my phone, banking software, a myriad of google tools, social media, online product searches and purchases, and most likely tools I don’t even realize are powered by AI.
I have begun to look for ways to automate some of the clerical items of my business. As a solopreneur, having efficient systems in place enhances my productivity.
Over the past few months, I have tested out tools to streamline different aspects of my work. In addition to my work directly with clients, I also offer a variety of community education talks on a range of topics and have developed an “expertise” on solo aging. I work with clients, other advocates and allied professionals, community organizations, and talk attendees both locally and nationally. I created and manage a website that serves as a clearinghouse for solo aging resources.
Having reliable tools to manage client needs and concerns, timekeeping, project management, files, billing, banking, my calendar, and more is critical. I have been slowly bringing in tools to assist.
Two weeks ago, I suddenly developed a unique form of laryngitis, and my voice is likely going to take a while to recover. “Wait and see” is not really a part of my personality. Navigating voice rest has taught me quite a bit in a very short amount of time.
After some time feeling helpless, disconnected, and slightly lost not having access to the tool I use most to communicate – personally and professionally – I decided to explore my options. Knowing that the best thing I can do for my voice’s recovery are the suggested exercises provided by the speech pathologist and rest, I needed to seek out tools to use daily.
I first researched text to speech applications I can use on my computer and phone. I tested voices, created some stored phrases, and explored different layouts. I’ve used text to speech during meetings I recently attended. I am grateful for the technology.
I am fortunate to have several presentations on the calendar this Fall. I am excited to be scheduled to speak at a large national conference in September, as well as two Massachusetts professional conferences in October. Other community education talks are also scheduled. I need a backup plan.
During my initial research for text to speech apps, the phrase “voice cloning” kept appearing and I had no idea this technology existed in the public marketplace. I have increasingly heard of “scams” related to this technology, but the use of the tool for “good” was not something about which I was aware.
I decided to explore the world of “voice cloning” further. I started by viewing websites of organizations that support people whose voices are impaired (or will be) and gathered resources and suggestions. I also did a general search on the topic and landed on some discussion forums with useful (and vetted) suggestions as well. I learned more about the concept of “voice banking.” Not only will this information assist me personally, but it is also very useful in my work as a healthcare advocate and community educator.
Before I found myself completely down an all-encompassing rabbit hole of research on the internet, I started testing out suggested websites.
To create a clone of my voice, I needed to either read and record suggested phrases which would provide a clone of my current voice (no thank you), or I could upload audio recordings that can be synthesized, and a cloned voice could be generated. I uploaded audio files from previously recorded presentations and after about 5 minutes an AI generated voice was waiting for me.
The exciting and frightening thing is that it does sound like me. Not perfectly me, but extremely close.
Now that I have access to this tool, I am honing scripts for my various upcoming presentations so that I can plug in the text for each slide and generate a narration to be used as backup. I will also explore how else I can use this tool.
For fun, I made the video below to demonstrate the voice clone that was generated.
Learning about voice cloning has me thinking about when I was younger, and audio technology was rapidly improving. Making a “mix tape” involved using a cassette tape recorder. There were many brands of cassette tapes all vying for consumers’ business. One popular print ad campaign asked “Is It Live or is it Memorex?”
The 2023 version of that campaign could be “Is It Live or Is It Cloned?”
Connect With Us: When the complexity of your healthcare situation is too challenging to navigate on your own, working with an independent board certified patient advocate can help cut through the “red tape,” reduce complications, and offer peace of mind at an emotional time. Contact Ailene to learn more about the value of working with a private patient advocate.