Artificial Intelligence takes the helm in Steven Bartlett's latest podcast venture, as his AI duplicate assumes the hosting role.
In the ever-evolving world of podcasting, artificial intelligence (AI) is making a significant impact. Three notable examples include Steven Bartlett's "100 CEOs with Steven Bartlett" podcast, JoggAI's platform, and Google's NotebookLM.
Steven Bartlett's podcast, an animated documentary-style series, is a pioneer in AI-driven podcast production. The show employs AI technologies from Runway, ElevenLabs, and Wondercraft to clone Bartlett's voice and create an AI host. Moreover, Bartlett writes the initial scripts, and Georgie Holt, a co-founder of FlightStory Studio, confirmed that Bartlett remains involved in the scripting and writing process.
JoggAI's platform allows users to create podcasts with AI avatars that speak with realistic voices and animations. This is demonstrated by an AI discussion on belief and atheism available on YouTube. On the other hand, Google's NotebookLM generates interactive podcasts with two AI hosts from text sources, primarily for educational content creation.
These examples showcase the versatility of AI in voice cloning, automated script narration, avatar hosts, and interactive podcast formats. However, the use of AI in podcasting is not without controversy. Spotify's Voice Translation feature, developed using technology from OpenAI, has received mixed reviews. While some listeners appreciate the feature for providing a more personal and natural listening experience compared to traditional dubbing, others feel that it lacks the human touch, describing it as an AI podcast with no soul.
Spotify launched a pilot of Voice Translation for podcasts in 2023, with Steven Bartlett among the podcasters working on the project. This feature translates podcasts into other languages while maintaining the original podcaster's voice, a significant step towards making content more accessible to a global audience.
Despite the advancements in AI-powered podcasting, challenges remain. The podcast industry, including Bartlett's series, faces the challenge of growing distribution and marketing in an increasingly crowded market. As AI continues to shape the landscape of podcasting, it will be interesting to see how these challenges are addressed and how the medium evolves in the future.
[1] Examples of podcasts using AI for production and voice cloning include Steven Bartlett's "100 CEOs," where his voice is cloned to create an AI host, produced by his FlightStory Studio using AI tools such as ElevenLabs, Wondercraft, and Runway.
[2] Another example is the use of JoggAI's platform to create podcasts with AI-generated avatars that speak with realistic voices and animations, demonstrated by a philosophical AI podcast conversation available on YouTube.
[3] Google's NotebookLM can automatically generate podcasts with two human-sounding AI hosts from user-provided sources, aimed primarily at educational content creation.
[1] Artificial intelligence (AI) not only clones voices but also produces podcasts, as seen in Steven Bartlett's "100 CEOs," where an AI host has been created to simulate Bartlett's voice using AI tools like ElevenLabs, Wondercraft, and Runway.
[2] Similarly, technology like JoggAI's platform employs AI to generate AI avatars that speak with realistic voices and animations for podcast creation, as demonstrated by an AI discussion on belief and atheism available on YouTube.
