Meta's AI chatbot to start speaking in the voices of Judi Dench, John Cena, and more
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, is set to introduce a new audio feature for its Meta AI chatbot that will allow users to select voices of popular actors like Judi Dench, Kristen Bell, and John Cena, among others. According to a source familiar with the company's plans, Meta has secured deals with these celebrities to provide voice options for its digital assistant.
Celebrity Voices and Announcement
Along with Dench, Bell, and Cena, users will also have the choice to pick voices of Awkwafina and Keegan-Michael Key, in addition to several generic voice alternatives. The unveiling of these celebrity voices is expected to take place at Meta's annual Connect conference starting this week, where the social media giant will also showcase its latest augmented-reality glasses and discuss future hardware releases.
Meta's move to incorporate celebrity voices comes as it aims to enhance the user experience within its family of apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The rollout of these voices will commence in the US and other English-speaking markets.
Meta is racing against tech giants like Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Google to establish dominance in the field of generative artificial intelligence. The company is continuously enhancing its chatbot's capabilities to make it a central aspect of its platform experience.
OpenAI had previously demonstrated a similar audio feature for its chatbot, which faced criticism when actress Scarlett Johansson accused the company of creating a voice resembling hers without her consent. In response, Meta has focused on developing innovative AI products, including the AI Studio tool that empowers content creators to build personalized chatbot versions.
Competition and Technology
Stay tuned for Meta's upcoming announcements at the Connect conference as it ventures into new technological frontiers to revolutionize user interactions.
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