Artificial Intelligence replica takes over as host for Steven Bartlett's latest podcast venture
In a groundbreaking move, Spotify launched a pilot of Voice Translation for podcasts in 2023, marking a new era for the podcasting industry. One of the most intriguing applications of this AI technology is the animated documentary-style series, "100 CEOs with Steven Bartlett," produced by FlightStory Studio.
The series, hosted by Steven Bartlett, features high-profile business figures like Richard Branson and Elon Musk, and is designed to be accessible to a global audience. To achieve this, the Voice Translation feature translates podcasts into other languages while maintaining the original podcaster's voice. Bartlett's voice is cloned using OpenAI technology, ensuring a personal and natural sounding podcast experience.
Bartlett remains involved in scripting and writing the initial scripts for the podcast, but the rest of the production is handled by AI. Technologies from AI firms Runway, ElevenLabs, and Wondercraft are used to create the voice clones, storyboard the content, and generate animated videos.
However, the use of AI in podcast production has not been without controversy. Some listeners find the podcast to be an AI creation with no soul. Despite this, Spotify aims to make the translated podcasts sound more authentic by matching the original speaker's style.
Other examples of podcasts using AI for production and voice translation include Google's NotebookLM tool, which generates podcasts from written content, and Jellypod, a platform specialising in naturalistic AI voice podcast generation. These tools are pushing the boundaries of what AI can achieve in the podcasting world.
The challenge for "100 CEOs with Steven Bartlett" is not just in the production, but in growing distribution and marketing. As AI continues to revolutionise the podcasting industry, it will be interesting to see how these challenges are met and overcome.
[1] [Source for "100 CEOs with Steven Bartlett"] [2] [Source for Google's NotebookLM] [3] [Source for Jellypod] [4] [Source for AI podcast platforms]
Artificial-intelligence technology plays a significant role in creating and translating the animated podcast series, "100 CEOs with Steven Bartlett." With the use of OpenAI technology to clone Bartlett's voice and AI firms like Runway, ElevenLabs, and Wondercraft to handle production tasks, the series showcases the capabilities of AI in the podcasting industry.
