Your iPhone will soon be able to replicate your voice after 15 minutes of training
Apple announced a range of new accessibility tools for the iPhone and iPad, which includes a feature that can replicate a user's voice for phone calls after a short 15-minute training session.
One of the upcoming tools, called Personal Voice, enables users to read text prompts to record their voice, allowing the technology to learn and mimic their voice. Another related feature, called Live Speech, utilises the "synthesised voice" to read out the user's typed text during phone calls, FaceTime conversations, and in-person interactions. Additionally, users can save frequently used phrases to use in real-time conversations.
These features are part of Apple's efforts to make their devices more inclusive for individuals with cognitive, vision, hearing, and mobility disabilities. Apple specifically highlighted the benefits for people who may experience a gradual loss of their voice due to conditions like ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
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Sarah Herrlinger, Apple's senior director of Global Accessibility Policy and Initiatives, emphasised the company's commitment to accessibility, stating that these innovative features were developed with input from disability communities to support a diverse range of users and facilitate new ways of connection.
Apple plans to release these features later in the year.
While these tools address a genuine need, they are introduced at a time when concerns about the misuse of artificial intelligence have risen, particularly with regards to convincing fake audio and video, often referred to as "deep fakes," which can be used for scams or disinformation.
In their blog post, Apple reassured users that the Personal Voice feature employs on-device machine learning to ensure the privacy and security of user information
Other technology companies have also explored using AI to replicate voices. Last year, Amazon announced its work on an update to its Alexa system that would allow it to mimic any voice, even that of a deceased family member (though the feature has not been released yet).
