Pratik Patel

I have mixed feelings about this.

Apple quietly launches a catalog of #books narrated by #AI on its Books app, in a move that publishers, authors, and agents warn may upend the #audiobook market.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jan/04/apple-artificial-intelligence-ai-audiobooks

#Bookstodon

Death of the narrator? Apple unveils suite of AI-voiced audiobooks

Exclusive: tech firm quietly launches new audiobook catalogue narrated by AI – but move expected to spark backlash

The Guardian
Jan 5, 2023 at 8:22amWeb
Show threadPratik PatelJan 5, 2023

If you're looking for samples of #audiobooks narrated by AI, search for the term "Narrated by Apple Books" in the Apple Books app. It will pull up a list of books converted to Audio by #Apple.

Here are a few samples:

https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1636546592

https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1640349620

#bookstodon #accessibility #audio

‎Loving From Afar

‎Romance · 2022

Apple Books
Show threadMorgan le Fay/MerlinJan 5, 2023
@ppatel I wish I could get access to this. It would make getting the rest of my audiobooks out so much simpler. I’m using one of the readers from NLS to try to narrate, and that doesn’t work very well.
Show threadPratik PatelJan 6, 2023
@evilcookies98 Depending on the genres of your books, the option may be available to you. They're adding some genres and other genres are available.
Show threadMorgan le Fay/MerlinJan 6, 2023
@ppatel I don’t think mine qualify right now, and even if they did, knowing Apple, they’ll charge me an arm and a leg anyway
Show threadPratik PatelJan 6, 2023
@evilcookies98 Based on everything I saw, there isn't a charge for you to be in the program. They just take a cut of the sale price.
Show threadMorgan le Fay/MerlinJan 7, 2023
@ppatel I hope they open it up more really soon because that would make my life so much easier. A 20 cell display. That would rather use less than half the display then split a word between two lines. Doesn’t bode well for narrating books.
Show threadPratik PatelJan 5, 2023

Here's a good piece that lays out some advantages to #AI narrated #audiobooks. The trouble is that there is no analysis of what happens when an author or publisher decides to forego hiring a human and go directly to this method.

Why AI audiobook narrators could win over some authors and readers, despite the vocal bumps

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jan/05/why-ai-audiobook-narrators-could-win-over-some-authors-and-readers-despite-the-vocal-bumps

#books #bookstodon

Why AI audiobook narrators could win over some authors and readers, despite the vocal bumps

Apple and Google’s AI turn in a booming market may sound less than human and raise the ire of voiceover actors, but it has cost benefits

The Guardian
Show threadSarah MatthewsJan 5, 2023
@ppatel i’m not keen myself as I really value the dramatic performance of a human narrator but, yes, I can see why there are some advantages. as long as it is made incredibly clear whether the voice is natural or AI when I’m looking to buy an audiobook I don’t mind so much but I’m not sure this will be the case
Show threadPratik PatelJan 5, 2023
@sarahmatthews It's going to be quite awhile before AI narrations are indistinguishable from human narrations. Apple and Google are certainly making it clear for now.
Show threadBrandon TysonJan 6, 2023
@ppatel I personally feel like this is a good thing, since wouldn't it mean that there could be more audio books?