Meta, the parent company of Facebook, recently unveiled Voicebox, an AI-powered chatbot that can convert text input and audio clips into synthesized speech.
Unlike traditional speech generation models, Voicebox has the ability to perform speech tasks it was not specifically trained on.
However, Meta has decided not to release the chatbot for public use due to potential risks of misuse. The company aims to strike a balance between openness and responsibility.
Voicebox can generate high-quality audio clips in multiple languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, Polish, and Portuguese. It can create speech from scratch, modify existing samples, perform noise removal, content editing, style conversion, and generate diverse samples.
Voicebox, the AI-powered chatbot developed by Meta, offers several potential use cases. One of its primary applications is in editing pre-recorded audio, allowing users to remove unwanted sounds such as car horns or barking dogs while maintaining the original content and style of the audio. This feature can be particularly useful in improving the quality of audio recordings.
Looking ahead, Meta envisions that AI models like Voicebox could be utilized to provide natural-sounding voices for virtual assistants and non-player characters in virtual worlds and games. This would enhance the immersive experience and make interactions with AI-driven characters more realistic and engaging.
Voicebox also has the potential to assist visually impaired individuals by converting written messages into personalized audio using their own voices. This capability allows them to listen to messages from friends or loved ones in a familiar voice, enhancing accessibility and inclusivity.
Additionally, Voicebox can be employed to create background music for videos, offering a convenient tool for content creators and video editors to enhance the audiovisual experience of their productions.