A woman made her AI voice clone say “arse.” Then she got banned.
1 min read
Summary
People who have lost their ability to speak can use voice cloning technology to recreate their past voices, but they face penalties if they swear, according to a report in MIT Technology Review.
Motor neuron disease patients Joyce Esser and Jules Rodriguez were banned from using US company ElevenLab’s voice cloning technology after using inappropriate language, despite there being no swearing policy in place.
Subsequent inquiries found that the company had reinstated Esser after lifting its restriction on using swears, with Dustin Blank, head of partnerships at the company citing a non-specific “terms of service” violation.
However, questions remain over the appropriateness of enforcing strict language boundaries for those with debilitating, tragic illnesses.