Spotify begins dubbing podcasts into Spanish using artificial intelligence

Spotify will use artificial intelligence to expand the reach of its largest podcasts. The platform began to use this technology to clone your main voices podcasters It is English-language and dubs its series into various languages, starting with Spanish..

This is still a pilot test, but all indications are that if the results are positive, the use of this technique could be expanded. The first thing to highlight is that Spotify has partnered with OpenAI to bring this initiative to life, taking advantage of the new model that now allows ChatGPT to do the talking.

In principle, the authors who joined the proposal Lex Friedman, Bill Simmons, Dax Shepard, Monica Padman and Stephen Bartlett. Spotify launched a new center which will include podcasts already voiced using artificial intelligence.

Some of the episodes that are already available in Spanish are Lex Friedman’s interview with Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari and actor Dax Shepard’s interview with actress Kristen Bell. The Swedish company’s idea is to soon add more products to this initiative, including a new original podcast from Trevor Noahformer presenter Daily Show on Comedy Central.

AI-dubbed podcasts coming to Spotify

A very interesting element of Spotify’s AI-dubbed podcasts is that they don’t implement voices with perfect intonation. What does it mean? This technology does not copy voice podcasters and their interviewees to turn them into perfect Spanish. On the contrary, translated versions They sound as if two people whose native language is English are speaking Spanish..

It is unclear whether this is a limitation of the technology or a creative decision to make the dubbing more realistic. In the first case, the scales tip towards the second option. You can see it for yourself below.

Spotify has already begun dubbing English podcasts into Spanish, but plans to use the technology in other languages ​​as well. In particular, French and German.. According to the platform, podcasts translated into these languages ​​will be available in the coming weeks.

Another noteworthy fact is that publications translated using artificial intelligence contain warnings about this. First of all, the episodes in question include “[Traducido con IA]” in the title. But they also include Denial of responsibility when you start playback, it reports that the original podcast was recorded in English, and the dubbing was created using AI.

“By matching a creator’s own voice, Voice Translation gives listeners around the world the opportunity to discover and be inspired by new podcasters in a more authentic way than ever. We believe that a thoughtful approach to artificial intelligence can help build deeper connections between listeners and creators.” which is a key component of Spotify’s mission to unlock the potential of human creativity,” explained Ziad Sultan, Vice President of Personalization at Spotify.

Technology that is becoming widespread

The streaming service’s approach is really interesting and can go a long way in helping to spread certain content that, due to language barriers today, may not reach all the audiences that might be interested. Of course, the technology also raises concerns about its misuse.. It is therefore not surprising that the intention is to take it gradually.

Although it is true that there are already countless applications that allow you to clone the voice of a famous person and make him speak a different language. Among the most notable cases are HeyGen. This web platform recently became famous when it was used to create a viral video of Lionel Messi speaking in English at a press conference.

It will be interesting to see how Spotify users experience new AI-dubbed podcasts. The first episodes are now available to both free and Premium subscribers.. It’s also important to remember that YouTube has started experimenting with a similar option.