Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Kelly Pierce]

Artificially intelligent voices offer inflection, pacing and emphasis
that make them sound eerily human. This will dramatically increase the
amount of material available for the blind. As mentioned, these voices
are many levels better than the volunteer readers at Learning Ally. I
am waiting for the day when celebrated disc jockies and Oscar and Emmy
winning and nominated actors and actresses are voice printed and used
in audio books and magazines. I would love to hear Hugh Jackman,
Robert deNiro, Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Leonardo DiCaprio, tom
Hanks, Kevin costner, or Maryl Streep  as an AI audio book reader.

Kelly



On 3/21/23, Esther Levegnale  wrote:
> hi, everyone, I know I did say I didn't like artificial speech, but perhaps
> I will try it now. Probably over the years it has gotten much better. Take
> care. Esther
>
> Sent From Esther's Amazing and Awesome iPhone 13 Pro Max!
>
>> On Mar 20, 2023, at 6:20 PM, Joshua Hendrickson 
>> wrote:
>>
>> I have never understood why some blind people don't like TTS books and
>> refuse to read them.  I also use bookshare.  They have books that I
>> couldn't get anywhere else.  I can either listen to different TTS
>> voices read them to me in voice dream reader, or I have a BI40X and
>> can read the books in braille.  It is my choice, and a great one to
>> have.  TTS voices are getting better and better and the more books we
>> have access to, the better.
>>
>>> On 3/20/23, Kerry Macdonald  wrote:
>>> It is just another way to read books. It means that more books will be
>>> available for more people. I have read books with text to speech for
>>> years
>>> and the voices they have now, particularly with apps, such as voice
>>> dream,
>>> are so good after a while you don’t even notice it. At least I don’t. I
>>> remember when I was in college my father bought me the Kurzweil reading
>>> machine, and it was a TTS voice, however, I was just so happy to be able
>>> to
>>> go out and buy any print book that I came to really like The Voice. It
>>> is
>>> what it is. It just means that we will have more freedom of choice and
>>> if
>>> people don’t like these books, they don’t have to use them.
>>>
>>>
>>> Kerry
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
 On Mar 17, 2023, at 10:10 AM, Jody ianuzzi 
 wrote:

 I disagree, I don’t think it’s disgusting that they are introducing
 new
 technology for reading books. Having a human narrator is extremely time
 consuming! I listen to books from Bookshare which are not available in
 any
 other source and I use the speech on my phone to listen to them. When I
 really get into a book I move past the sound of the voice and just
 absorb
 the Contant.

 If these books become available in this format then I’m all for it

 JODY

 To Boldly Go  


 thunderwalker...@gmail.com

 "What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO BARRIERS
  Erik Weihenmayer

> On Mar 17, 2023, at 9:50 AM, Barbara Stahl
> 
> wrote:
>
> 
> The article in this email tells you how to find these type of
> audiobooks
> using the Books app just scroll down the email to find it
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: Barbara Stahl 
>> Date: January 14, 2023 at 10:57:50 AM EST
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced
>> by
>> an AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>>
>> I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is
>> surprisingly good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever be
>> better
>> than human narration for me.  And its totally wrong for companies to
>> try
>> to replace people with robots just for profet.  Its disgusting.
>>
>>> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long 
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> I completely agree.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Dennis Long
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone SE 3
>>>
>>>
 On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:


 While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the
 highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction
 by
 eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated
 book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one and hope
 we'll
 continue to have a good supply of human narrated audio for many
 years
 to come.


 Alan Lemly


 -Original Message-

 From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf
 Of
 M. Taylor

 Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM

 To: viphone@googlegroups.com

 Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by
 an
 AI Robot, Mac Daily News

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Esther Levegnale]

hi, everyone, I know I did say I didn't like artificial speech, but perhaps I 
will try it now. Probably over the years it has gotten much better. Take care. 
Esther

Sent From Esther's Amazing and Awesome iPhone 13 Pro Max!

> On Mar 20, 2023, at 6:20 PM, Joshua Hendrickson  wrote:
> 
> I have never understood why some blind people don't like TTS books and
> refuse to read them.  I also use bookshare.  They have books that I
> couldn't get anywhere else.  I can either listen to different TTS
> voices read them to me in voice dream reader, or I have a BI40X and
> can read the books in braille.  It is my choice, and a great one to
> have.  TTS voices are getting better and better and the more books we
> have access to, the better.
> 
>> On 3/20/23, Kerry Macdonald  wrote:
>> It is just another way to read books. It means that more books will be
>> available for more people. I have read books with text to speech for years
>> and the voices they have now, particularly with apps, such as voice dream,
>> are so good after a while you don’t even notice it. At least I don’t. I
>> remember when I was in college my father bought me the Kurzweil reading
>> machine, and it was a TTS voice, however, I was just so happy to be able to
>> go out and buy any print book that I came to really like The Voice. It is
>> what it is. It just means that we will have more freedom of choice and if
>> people don’t like these books, they don’t have to use them.
>> 
>> 
>> Kerry
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>> On Mar 17, 2023, at 10:10 AM, Jody ianuzzi 
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I disagree, I don’t think it’s disgusting that they are introducing new
>>> technology for reading books. Having a human narrator is extremely time
>>> consuming! I listen to books from Bookshare which are not available in any
>>> other source and I use the speech on my phone to listen to them. When I
>>> really get into a book I move past the sound of the voice and just absorb
>>> the Contant.
>>> 
>>> If these books become available in this format then I’m all for it
>>> 
>>> JODY
>>> 
>>> To Boldly Go  
>>> 
>>> 
>>> thunderwalker...@gmail.com
>>> 
>>> "What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO BARRIERS
>>>  Erik Weihenmayer
>>> 
 On Mar 17, 2023, at 9:50 AM, Barbara Stahl 
 wrote:
 
 
 The article in this email tells you how to find these type of audiobooks
 using the Books app just scroll down the email to find it
 
 
 Begin forwarded message:
 
> From: Barbara Stahl 
> Date: January 14, 2023 at 10:57:50 AM EST
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by
> an AI Robot, Mac Daily News
> 
> I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is
> surprisingly good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever be better
> than human narration for me.  And its totally wrong for companies to try
> to replace people with robots just for profet.  Its disgusting.
> 
>> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long  wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> I completely agree.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Dennis Long
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone SE 3
>> 
>> 
>>> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the
>>> highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by
>>> eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated
>>> book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll
>>> continue to have a good supply of human narrated audio for many years
>>> to come.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Alan Lemly
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -Original Message-
>>> 
>>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of
>>> M. Taylor
>>> 
>>> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
>>> 
>>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>>> 
>>> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an
>>> AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Hello Everyone,
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and
>>> explored the selection.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the
>>> text.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to
>>> choose, I purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Enjoy,
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Mark
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot
>>> MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly
>>> launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has
>>> quietly launched a catalog of books 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Esther Levegnale]

I prefer a human voice over synthetic ones as well. Esther

Sent From Esther's Amazing and Awesome iPhone 13 Pro Max!

> On Mar 21, 2023, at 1:22 PM, Sieghard Weitzel  wrote:
> 
> As for ,me I never understand why one would want to listen to a novel using 
> a synthetic voice instead of enjoying the narration of a human reader. There 
> is also a big difference between pretty much all the readers who do this 
> professionally and some public domain books where I have heard readers who 
> actually pause to figure out some words or mispronounce words altogether. 
> Yes, even with professional readers you get some where you just may not like 
> the voice or how they use their voice to portrait different characters in the 
> book, but for the most part when I listen to Audible books which often are 
> professionally narrated by whatever publisher is releasing the book, I find 
> it quite rare that a reader is not good. But that is why we are different, 
> that is why some like to use Alex or Ava as their TTS on the iPhone which I 
> personally can't stand and why others, me included, still use Eloquence on 
> the computer. For me my computer is my tool, it's what I use to do my job and 
> run my business so I need it to be efficient and nothing is more efficient 
> than Eloquence or synthetic voices like it. The more human sounding a voice 
> is the worse it sounds when you speed it up. I must say, however, that a 
> couple of these AI narrated books where I listened to samples are very close 
> to a human reader and I could probably imagine myself listening to a book 
> that way. But I definitely will not listen to a book using any of the high 
> quality Jaws voices let alone Eloquence.
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Joshua 
> Hendrickson
> Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 3:21 PM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
> Robot, Mac Daily News
> 
> I have never understood why some blind people don't like TTS books and refuse 
> to read them.  I also use bookshare.  They have books that I couldn't get 
> anywhere else.  I can either listen to different TTS voices read them to me 
> in voice dream reader, or I have a BI40X and can read the books in braille.  
> It is my choice, and a great one to have.  TTS voices are getting better and 
> better and the more books we have access to, the better.
> 
>> On 3/20/23, Kerry Macdonald  wrote:
>> It is just another way to read books. It means that more books will be 
>> available for more people. I have read books with text to speech for 
>> years and the voices they have now, particularly with apps, such as 
>> voice dream, are so good after a while you don’t even notice it. At 
>> least I don’t. I remember when I was in college my father bought me 
>> the Kurzweil reading machine, and it was a TTS voice, however, I was 
>> just so happy to be able to go out and buy any print book that I came 
>> to really like The Voice. It is what it is. It just means that we will 
>> have more freedom of choice and if people don’t like these books, they don’t 
>> have to use them.
>> 
>> 
>> Kerry
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>> On Mar 17, 2023, at 10:10 AM, Jody ianuzzi 
>>> 
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I disagree, I don’t think it’s disgusting that they are introducing 
>>> new technology for reading books. Having a human narrator is 
>>> extremely time consuming! I listen to books from Bookshare which are 
>>> not available in any other source and I use the speech on my phone to 
>>> listen to them. When I really get into a book I move past the sound 
>>> of the voice and just absorb the Contant.
>>> 
>>> If these books become available in this format then I’m all for it
>>> 
>>> JODY
>>> 
>>> To Boldly Go  
>>> 
>>> 
>>> thunderwalker...@gmail.com
>>> 
>>> "What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO BARRIERS
>>>  Erik Weihenmayer
>>> 
 On Mar 17, 2023, at 9:50 AM, Barbara Stahl 
 
 wrote:
 
 
 The article in this email tells you how to find these type of 
 audiobooks using the Books app just scroll down the email to find it
 
 
 Begin forwarded message:
 
> From: Barbara Stahl 
> Date: January 14, 2023 at 10:57:50 AM EST
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks 
> Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News
> 
> I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is 
> surprisingly good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever be 
> better than human narration for me.  And its totally wrong for 
> companies to try to replace people with robots just for profet.  Its 
> disgusting.
> 
>> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long  wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> I completely agree.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Dennis Long
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone SE 3
>> 
>> 

RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Steve Cook]

There are a variety of platforms with different voices for us to listen to 
books. Myself I am grateful that we have so many choices depending on our 
preference!

Steve Cook
Do you enjoy reading books? How about discussing books? Well we would like to 
invite you to the group for the discussion and recommendation of books for 
everyone! When recommending books, always include the title, author and the 
platform you found the book. To subscribe to this list, send a message to 
bookdiscussionandrecommendations+subscr...@googlegroups.com



-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Joshua 
Hendrickson
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2023 1:43 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

I actually like eloquence.  I've been using it on my computers for years.  I 
even had E-speek as my iPhone voice over voice for a while because it could go 
so fast.  Eloquence doesn't sound quite as good on the iPhone, as it does on my 
computer, but pretty close.  I would have no problem having eloquence for 
reading a bookshare book to me.
However, there are some great voices to choose from.  There are even children 
voices from acapela.  Although having one of those voices read a bookshare book 
to me I think would be a little weird.

On 3/20/23, William James  wrote:
> I can deal with specific TTS voices reading to me.  I like James in VDR.
> However, I do not think I would like Microsoft Sam or Eloquence 
> reading to me a book I want to enjoy.  You old timers will remember Microsoft 
> Sam.
> LOL!
>
> Sent from my iPhone Pro Max
>
>> On Mar 20, 2023, at 6:20 PM, Joshua Hendrickson 
>> wrote:
>>
>> I have never understood why some blind people don't like TTS books 
>> and refuse to read them.  I also use bookshare.  They have books that 
>> I couldn't get anywhere else.  I can either listen to different TTS 
>> voices read them to me in voice dream reader, or I have a BI40X and 
>> can read the books in braille.  It is my choice, and a great one to 
>> have.  TTS voices are getting better and better and the more books we 
>> have access to, the better.
>>
>>> On 3/20/23, Kerry Macdonald  wrote:
>>> It is just another way to read books. It means that more books will 
>>> be available for more people. I have read books with text to speech 
>>> for years and the voices they have now, particularly with apps, such 
>>> as voice dream, are so good after a while you don’t even notice it. 
>>> At least I don’t. I remember when I was in college my father bought 
>>> me the Kurzweil reading machine, and it was a TTS voice, however, I 
>>> was just so happy to be able to go out and buy any print book that I 
>>> came to really like The Voice. It is what it is. It just means that 
>>> we will have more freedom of choice and if people don’t like these 
>>> books, they don’t have to use them.
>>>
>>>
>>> Kerry
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
 On Mar 17, 2023, at 10:10 AM, Jody ianuzzi 
 
 wrote:

 I disagree, I don’t think it’s disgusting that they are 
 introducing new technology for reading books. Having a human 
 narrator is extremely time consuming! I listen to books from 
 Bookshare which are not available in any other source and I use the 
 speech on my phone to listen to them. When I really get into a book 
 I move past the sound of the voice and just absorb the Contant.

 If these books become available in this format then I’m all for it

 JODY

 To Boldly Go  


 thunderwalker...@gmail.com

 "What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO 
 BARRIERS  Erik Weihenmayer

> On Mar 17, 2023, at 9:50 AM, Barbara Stahl 
> 
> wrote:
>
> 
> The article in this email tells you how to find these type of 
> audiobooks using the Books app just scroll down the email to find 
> it
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: Barbara Stahl 
>> Date: January 14, 2023 at 10:57:50 AM EST
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks 
>> Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>>
>> I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration 
>> is surprisingly good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever 
>> be better than human narration for me.  And its totally wrong for 
>> companies to try to replace people with robots just for profet.  
>> Its disgusting.
>>
>>> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long 
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> I completely agree.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Dennis Long
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone SE 3
>>>
>>>
 On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:


 While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the 
 highest quality, this feels like the next 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Jody ianuzzi]

My feeling is that I’ll read a book and any media that is accessible to me. 
when I was growing up the only thing that was available was talking books and 
RFB which is now Learning Ally. That was it. Course you could always have 
somebody read it to you in person but that was a lot more difficult.

I think we have a Goldmine of accessible information now and we shouldn’t take 
it for granted

JODY

To Boldly Go   


thunderwalker...@gmail.com 

"What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO BARRIERS  Erik 
Weihenmayer

> On Mar 21, 2023, at 1:22 PM, Sieghard Weitzel  wrote:
> 
> As for ,me I never understand why one would want to listen to a novel using 
> a synthetic voice instead of enjoying the narration of a human reader. There 
> is also a big difference between pretty much all the readers who do this 
> professionally and some public domain books where I have heard readers who 
> actually pause to figure out some words or mispronounce words altogether. 
> Yes, even with professional readers you get some where you just may not like 
> the voice or how they use their voice to portrait different characters in the 
> book, but for the most part when I listen to Audible books which often are 
> professionally narrated by whatever publisher is releasing the book, I find 
> it quite rare that a reader is not good. But that is why we are different, 
> that is why some like to use Alex or Ava as their TTS on the iPhone which I 
> personally can't stand and why others, me included, still use Eloquence on 
> the computer. For me my computer is my tool, it's what I use to do my job and 
> run my business so I need it to be efficient and nothing is more efficient 
> than Eloquence or synthetic voices like it. The more human sounding a voice 
> is the worse it sounds when you speed it up. I must say, however, that a 
> couple of these AI narrated books where I listened to samples are very close 
> to a human reader and I could probably imagine myself listening to a book 
> that way. But I definitely will not listen to a book using any of the high 
> quality Jaws voices let alone Eloquence.
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Joshua 
> Hendrickson
> Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 3:21 PM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
> Robot, Mac Daily News
> 
> I have never understood why some blind people don't like TTS books and refuse 
> to read them.  I also use bookshare.  They have books that I couldn't get 
> anywhere else.  I can either listen to different TTS voices read them to me 
> in voice dream reader, or I have a BI40X and can read the books in braille.  
> It is my choice, and a great one to have.  TTS voices are getting better and 
> better and the more books we have access to, the better.
> 
>> On 3/20/23, Kerry Macdonald  wrote:
>> It is just another way to read books. It means that more books will be 
>> available for more people. I have read books with text to speech for 
>> years and the voices they have now, particularly with apps, such as 
>> voice dream, are so good after a while you don’t even notice it. At 
>> least I don’t. I remember when I was in college my father bought me 
>> the Kurzweil reading machine, and it was a TTS voice, however, I was 
>> just so happy to be able to go out and buy any print book that I came 
>> to really like The Voice. It is what it is. It just means that we will 
>> have more freedom of choice and if people don’t like these books, they don’t 
>> have to use them.
>> 
>> 
>> Kerry
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>> On Mar 17, 2023, at 10:10 AM, Jody ianuzzi 
>>> 
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I disagree, I don’t think it’s disgusting that they are introducing 
>>> new technology for reading books. Having a human narrator is 
>>> extremely time consuming! I listen to books from Bookshare which are 
>>> not available in any other source and I use the speech on my phone to 
>>> listen to them. When I really get into a book I move past the sound 
>>> of the voice and just absorb the Contant.
>>> 
>>> If these books become available in this format then I’m all for it
>>> 
>>> JODY
>>> 
>>> To Boldly Go  
>>> 
>>> 
>>> thunderwalker...@gmail.com
>>> 
>>> "What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO BARRIERS
>>>  Erik Weihenmayer
>>> 
 On Mar 17, 2023, at 9:50 AM, Barbara Stahl 
 
 wrote:
 
 
 The article in this email tells you how to find these type of 
 audiobooks using the Books app just scroll down the email to find it
 
 
 Begin forwarded message:
 
> From: Barbara Stahl 
> Date: January 14, 2023 at 10:57:50 AM EST
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks 
> Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News
> 
> I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is 
> surprisingly good.  But I 

RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Sieghard Weitzel]

As for ,me I never understand why one would want to listen to a novel using a 
synthetic voice instead of enjoying the narration of a human reader. There is 
also a big difference between pretty much all the readers who do this 
professionally and some public domain books where I have heard readers who 
actually pause to figure out some words or mispronounce words altogether. Yes, 
even with professional readers you get some where you just may not like the 
voice or how they use their voice to portrait different characters in the book, 
but for the most part when I listen to Audible books which often are 
professionally narrated by whatever publisher is releasing the book, I find it 
quite rare that a reader is not good. But that is why we are different, that is 
why some like to use Alex or Ava as their TTS on the iPhone which I personally 
can't stand and why others, me included, still use Eloquence on the computer. 
For me my computer is my tool, it's what I use to do my job and run my business 
so I need it to be efficient and nothing is more efficient than Eloquence or 
synthetic voices like it. The more human sounding a voice is the worse it 
sounds when you speed it up. I must say, however, that a couple of these AI 
narrated books where I listened to samples are very close to a human reader and 
I could probably imagine myself listening to a book that way. But I definitely 
will not listen to a book using any of the high quality Jaws voices let alone 
Eloquence.

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Joshua 
Hendrickson
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 3:21 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

I have never understood why some blind people don't like TTS books and refuse 
to read them.  I also use bookshare.  They have books that I couldn't get 
anywhere else.  I can either listen to different TTS voices read them to me in 
voice dream reader, or I have a BI40X and can read the books in braille.  It is 
my choice, and a great one to have.  TTS voices are getting better and better 
and the more books we have access to, the better.

On 3/20/23, Kerry Macdonald  wrote:
> It is just another way to read books. It means that more books will be 
> available for more people. I have read books with text to speech for 
> years and the voices they have now, particularly with apps, such as 
> voice dream, are so good after a while you don’t even notice it. At 
> least I don’t. I remember when I was in college my father bought me 
> the Kurzweil reading machine, and it was a TTS voice, however, I was 
> just so happy to be able to go out and buy any print book that I came 
> to really like The Voice. It is what it is. It just means that we will 
> have more freedom of choice and if people don’t like these books, they don’t 
> have to use them.
>
>
> Kerry
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Mar 17, 2023, at 10:10 AM, Jody ianuzzi 
>> 
>> wrote:
>>
>> I disagree, I don’t think it’s disgusting that they are introducing 
>> new technology for reading books. Having a human narrator is 
>> extremely time consuming! I listen to books from Bookshare which are 
>> not available in any other source and I use the speech on my phone to 
>> listen to them. When I really get into a book I move past the sound 
>> of the voice and just absorb the Contant.
>>
>> If these books become available in this format then I’m all for it
>>
>> JODY
>>
>> To Boldly Go  
>>
>>
>> thunderwalker...@gmail.com
>>
>> "What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO BARRIERS
>>  Erik Weihenmayer
>>
>>> On Mar 17, 2023, at 9:50 AM, Barbara Stahl 
>>> 
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> 
>>> The article in this email tells you how to find these type of 
>>> audiobooks using the Books app just scroll down the email to find it
>>>
>>>
>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>>
 From: Barbara Stahl 
 Date: January 14, 2023 at 10:57:50 AM EST
 To: viphone@googlegroups.com
 Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks 
 Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

 I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is 
 surprisingly good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever be 
 better than human narration for me.  And its totally wrong for 
 companies to try to replace people with robots just for profet.  Its 
 disgusting.

> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long  wrote:
>
>
> I completely agree.
>
>
>
>
> Dennis Long
>
> Sent from my iPhone SE 3
>
>
>> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>>
>>
>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the 
>> highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction 
>> by eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI 
>> narrated book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Joshua Hendrickson]

I actually like eloquence.  I've been using it on my computers for
years.  I even had E-speek as my iPhone voice over voice for a while
because it could go so fast.  Eloquence doesn't sound quite as good on
the iPhone, as it does on my computer, but pretty close.  I would have
no problem having eloquence for reading a bookshare book to me.
However, there are some great voices to choose from.  There are even
children voices from acapela.  Although having one of those voices
read a bookshare book to me I think would be a little weird.

On 3/20/23, William James  wrote:
> I can deal with specific TTS voices reading to me.  I like James in VDR.
> However, I do not think I would like Microsoft Sam or Eloquence reading to
> me a book I want to enjoy.  You old timers will remember Microsoft Sam.
> LOL!
>
> Sent from my iPhone Pro Max
>
>> On Mar 20, 2023, at 6:20 PM, Joshua Hendrickson 
>> wrote:
>>
>> I have never understood why some blind people don't like TTS books and
>> refuse to read them.  I also use bookshare.  They have books that I
>> couldn't get anywhere else.  I can either listen to different TTS
>> voices read them to me in voice dream reader, or I have a BI40X and
>> can read the books in braille.  It is my choice, and a great one to
>> have.  TTS voices are getting better and better and the more books we
>> have access to, the better.
>>
>>> On 3/20/23, Kerry Macdonald  wrote:
>>> It is just another way to read books. It means that more books will be
>>> available for more people. I have read books with text to speech for
>>> years
>>> and the voices they have now, particularly with apps, such as voice
>>> dream,
>>> are so good after a while you don’t even notice it. At least I don’t. I
>>> remember when I was in college my father bought me the Kurzweil reading
>>> machine, and it was a TTS voice, however, I was just so happy to be able
>>> to
>>> go out and buy any print book that I came to really like The Voice. It
>>> is
>>> what it is. It just means that we will have more freedom of choice and
>>> if
>>> people don’t like these books, they don’t have to use them.
>>>
>>>
>>> Kerry
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
 On Mar 17, 2023, at 10:10 AM, Jody ianuzzi 
 wrote:

 I disagree, I don’t think it’s disgusting that they are introducing
 new
 technology for reading books. Having a human narrator is extremely time
 consuming! I listen to books from Bookshare which are not available in
 any
 other source and I use the speech on my phone to listen to them. When I
 really get into a book I move past the sound of the voice and just
 absorb
 the Contant.

 If these books become available in this format then I’m all for it

 JODY

 To Boldly Go  


 thunderwalker...@gmail.com

 "What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO BARRIERS
  Erik Weihenmayer

> On Mar 17, 2023, at 9:50 AM, Barbara Stahl
> 
> wrote:
>
> 
> The article in this email tells you how to find these type of
> audiobooks
> using the Books app just scroll down the email to find it
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: Barbara Stahl 
>> Date: January 14, 2023 at 10:57:50 AM EST
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced
>> by
>> an AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>>
>> I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is
>> surprisingly good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever be
>> better
>> than human narration for me.  And its totally wrong for companies to
>> try
>> to replace people with robots just for profet.  Its disgusting.
>>
>>> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long 
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> I completely agree.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Dennis Long
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone SE 3
>>>
>>>
 On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:


 While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the
 highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction
 by
 eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated
 book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one and hope
 we'll
 continue to have a good supply of human narrated audio for many
 years
 to come.


 Alan Lemly


 -Original Message-

 From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf
 Of
 M. Taylor

 Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM

 To: viphone@googlegroups.com

 Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by
 an
 AI Robot, Mac Daily News


 Hello Everyone,


 I was 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[William James]

I can deal with specific TTS voices reading to me.  I like James in VDR.  
However, I do not think I would like Microsoft Sam or Eloquence reading to me a 
book I want to enjoy.  You old timers will remember Microsoft Sam.  LOL!

Sent from my iPhone Pro Max

> On Mar 20, 2023, at 6:20 PM, Joshua Hendrickson  wrote:
> 
> I have never understood why some blind people don't like TTS books and
> refuse to read them.  I also use bookshare.  They have books that I
> couldn't get anywhere else.  I can either listen to different TTS
> voices read them to me in voice dream reader, or I have a BI40X and
> can read the books in braille.  It is my choice, and a great one to
> have.  TTS voices are getting better and better and the more books we
> have access to, the better.
> 
>> On 3/20/23, Kerry Macdonald  wrote:
>> It is just another way to read books. It means that more books will be
>> available for more people. I have read books with text to speech for years
>> and the voices they have now, particularly with apps, such as voice dream,
>> are so good after a while you don’t even notice it. At least I don’t. I
>> remember when I was in college my father bought me the Kurzweil reading
>> machine, and it was a TTS voice, however, I was just so happy to be able to
>> go out and buy any print book that I came to really like The Voice. It is
>> what it is. It just means that we will have more freedom of choice and if
>> people don’t like these books, they don’t have to use them.
>> 
>> 
>> Kerry
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>> On Mar 17, 2023, at 10:10 AM, Jody ianuzzi 
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I disagree, I don’t think it’s disgusting that they are introducing new
>>> technology for reading books. Having a human narrator is extremely time
>>> consuming! I listen to books from Bookshare which are not available in any
>>> other source and I use the speech on my phone to listen to them. When I
>>> really get into a book I move past the sound of the voice and just absorb
>>> the Contant.
>>> 
>>> If these books become available in this format then I’m all for it
>>> 
>>> JODY
>>> 
>>> To Boldly Go  
>>> 
>>> 
>>> thunderwalker...@gmail.com
>>> 
>>> "What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO BARRIERS
>>>  Erik Weihenmayer
>>> 
 On Mar 17, 2023, at 9:50 AM, Barbara Stahl 
 wrote:
 
 
 The article in this email tells you how to find these type of audiobooks
 using the Books app just scroll down the email to find it
 
 
 Begin forwarded message:
 
> From: Barbara Stahl 
> Date: January 14, 2023 at 10:57:50 AM EST
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by
> an AI Robot, Mac Daily News
> 
> I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is
> surprisingly good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever be better
> than human narration for me.  And its totally wrong for companies to try
> to replace people with robots just for profet.  Its disgusting.
> 
>> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long  wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> I completely agree.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Dennis Long
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone SE 3
>> 
>> 
>>> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the
>>> highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by
>>> eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated
>>> book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll
>>> continue to have a good supply of human narrated audio for many years
>>> to come.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Alan Lemly
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -Original Message-
>>> 
>>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of
>>> M. Taylor
>>> 
>>> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
>>> 
>>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>>> 
>>> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an
>>> AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Hello Everyone,
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and
>>> explored the selection.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the
>>> text.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to
>>> choose, I purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Enjoy,
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Mark
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot
>>> MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly
>>> launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has
>>> quietly 

RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Christopher Chaltain]

Like you said, it's a matter of choice. I've pulled up books in Kindle and read 
them with a TTS, but all things being equal, I'd prefer a human reader. I don't 
have a problem with people preferring a human reader, since as you said, it's 
their choice.

--
Christopher (AKA CJ) =>÷
Chaltain at Outlook, USA

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Joshua 
Hendrickson
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 5:21 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

I have never understood why some blind people don't like TTS books and refuse 
to read them.  I also use bookshare.  They have books that I couldn't get 
anywhere else.  I can either listen to different TTS voices read them to me in 
voice dream reader, or I have a BI40X and can read the books in braille.  It is 
my choice, and a great one to have.  TTS voices are getting better and better 
and the more books we have access to, the better.

On 3/20/23, Kerry Macdonald  wrote:
> It is just another way to read books. It means that more books will be 
> available for more people. I have read books with text to speech for 
> years and the voices they have now, particularly with apps, such as 
> voice dream, are so good after a while you don’t even notice it. At 
> least I don’t. I remember when I was in college my father bought me 
> the Kurzweil reading machine, and it was a TTS voice, however, I was 
> just so happy to be able to go out and buy any print book that I came 
> to really like The Voice. It is what it is. It just means that we will 
> have more freedom of choice and if people don’t like these books, they don’t 
> have to use them.
>
>
> Kerry
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Mar 17, 2023, at 10:10 AM, Jody ianuzzi 
>> 
>> wrote:
>>
>> I disagree, I don’t think it’s disgusting that they are introducing 
>> new technology for reading books. Having a human narrator is 
>> extremely time consuming! I listen to books from Bookshare which are 
>> not available in any other source and I use the speech on my phone to 
>> listen to them. When I really get into a book I move past the sound 
>> of the voice and just absorb the Contant.
>>
>> If these books become available in this format then I’m all for it
>>
>> JODY
>>
>> To Boldly Go  
>>
>>
>> thunderwalker...@gmail.com
>>
>> "What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO BARRIERS
>>  Erik Weihenmayer
>>
>>> On Mar 17, 2023, at 9:50 AM, Barbara Stahl 
>>> 
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> 
>>> The article in this email tells you how to find these type of 
>>> audiobooks using the Books app just scroll down the email to find it
>>>
>>>
>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>>
 From: Barbara Stahl 
 Date: January 14, 2023 at 10:57:50 AM EST
 To: viphone@googlegroups.com
 Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks 
 Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

 I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is 
 surprisingly good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever be 
 better than human narration for me.  And its totally wrong for 
 companies to try to replace people with robots just for profet.  Its 
 disgusting.

> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long  wrote:
>
>
> I completely agree.
>
>
>
>
> Dennis Long
>
> Sent from my iPhone SE 3
>
>
>> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>>
>>
>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the 
>> highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction 
>> by eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI 
>> narrated book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one 
>> and hope we'll continue to have a good supply of human narrated 
>> audio for many years to come.
>>
>>
>> Alan Lemly
>>
>>
>> -Original Message-
>>
>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On 
>> Behalf Of M. Taylor
>>
>> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
>>
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>>
>> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced 
>> by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>>
>>
>> Hello Everyone,
>>
>>
>> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books 
>> and explored the selection.
>>
>>
>> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the 
>> text.
>>
>>
>> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to 
>> choose, I purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>>
>>
>> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>>
>>
>> Enjoy,
>>
>>
>> Mark
>>
>>
>> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI 
>> robot MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Joshua Hendrickson]

I have never understood why some blind people don't like TTS books and
refuse to read them.  I also use bookshare.  They have books that I
couldn't get anywhere else.  I can either listen to different TTS
voices read them to me in voice dream reader, or I have a BI40X and
can read the books in braille.  It is my choice, and a great one to
have.  TTS voices are getting better and better and the more books we
have access to, the better.

On 3/20/23, Kerry Macdonald  wrote:
> It is just another way to read books. It means that more books will be
> available for more people. I have read books with text to speech for years
> and the voices they have now, particularly with apps, such as voice dream,
> are so good after a while you don’t even notice it. At least I don’t. I
> remember when I was in college my father bought me the Kurzweil reading
> machine, and it was a TTS voice, however, I was just so happy to be able to
> go out and buy any print book that I came to really like The Voice. It is
> what it is. It just means that we will have more freedom of choice and if
> people don’t like these books, they don’t have to use them.
>
>
> Kerry
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Mar 17, 2023, at 10:10 AM, Jody ianuzzi 
>> wrote:
>>
>> I disagree, I don’t think it’s disgusting that they are introducing new
>> technology for reading books. Having a human narrator is extremely time
>> consuming! I listen to books from Bookshare which are not available in any
>> other source and I use the speech on my phone to listen to them. When I
>> really get into a book I move past the sound of the voice and just absorb
>> the Contant.
>>
>> If these books become available in this format then I’m all for it
>>
>> JODY
>>
>> To Boldly Go  
>>
>>
>> thunderwalker...@gmail.com
>>
>> "What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO BARRIERS
>>  Erik Weihenmayer
>>
>>> On Mar 17, 2023, at 9:50 AM, Barbara Stahl 
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> 
>>> The article in this email tells you how to find these type of audiobooks
>>> using the Books app just scroll down the email to find it
>>>
>>>
>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>>
 From: Barbara Stahl 
 Date: January 14, 2023 at 10:57:50 AM EST
 To: viphone@googlegroups.com
 Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by
 an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

 I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is
 surprisingly good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever be better
 than human narration for me.  And its totally wrong for companies to try
 to replace people with robots just for profet.  Its disgusting.

> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long  wrote:
>
>
> I completely agree.
>
>
>
>
> Dennis Long
>
> Sent from my iPhone SE 3
>
>
>> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>>
>>
>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the
>> highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by
>> eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated
>> book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll
>> continue to have a good supply of human narrated audio for many years
>> to come.
>>
>>
>> Alan Lemly
>>
>>
>> -Original Message-
>>
>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of
>> M. Taylor
>>
>> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
>>
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>>
>> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an
>> AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>>
>>
>> Hello Everyone,
>>
>>
>> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and
>> explored the selection.
>>
>>
>> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the
>> text.
>>
>>
>> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to
>> choose, I purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>>
>>
>> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>>
>>
>> Enjoy,
>>
>>
>> Mark
>>
>>
>> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot
>> MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly
>> launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has
>> quietly launched a catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using
>> artificial intelligence and voice synthesis technologies it developed.
>>
>> By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
>>
>>
>> The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years,
>> with technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last
>> year jumped 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders
>> believe the global market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
>>
>> On the 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Kerry Macdonald]

It is just another way to read books. It means that more books will be available for more people. I have read books with text to speech for years and the voices they have now, particularly with apps, such as voice dream, are so good after a while you don’t even notice it. At least I don’t. I remember when I was in college my father bought me the Kurzweil reading machine, and it was a TTS voice, however, I was just so happy to be able to go out and buy any print book that I came to really like The Voice. It is what it is. It just means that we will have more freedom of choice and if people don’t like these books, they don’t have to use them.KerrySent from my iPhoneOn Mar 17, 2023, at 10:10 AM, Jody ianuzzi  wrote:I disagree, I don’t think it’s disgusting that they are introducing new technology for reading books. Having a human narrator is extremely time consuming! I listen to books from Bookshare which are not available in any other source and I use the speech on my phone to listen to them. When I really get into a book I move past the sound of the voice and just absorb the Contant.  If these books become available in this format then I’m all for itJODYTo Boldly Go   thunderwalker...@gmail.com "What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO BARRIERS  Erik WeihenmayerOn Mar 17, 2023, at 9:50 AM, Barbara Stahl  wrote:The article in this email tells you how to find these type of audiobooks using the Books app just scroll down the email to find itBegin forwarded message:From: Barbara Stahl Date: January 14, 2023 at 10:57:50 AM ESTTo: viphone@googlegroups.comSubject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily NewsI listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is surprisingly good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever be better than human narration for me.  And its totally wrong for companies to try to replace people with robots just for profet.  Its disgusting.  On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long  wrote:I completely agree.Dennis LongSent from my iPhone SE 3On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a good supply of human narrated audio for many years to come.Alan Lemly-Original Message-From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M. TaylorSent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PMTo: viphone@googlegroups.comSubject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily NewsHello Everyone,I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and explored the selection.I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose, I purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.Enjoy,MarkApple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and voice synthesis technologies it developed.By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as being "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant shift in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the market.MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview can be heard via Apple Books here.Original Article at:https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-audiobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/--The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.comThe archives for this list can be searched 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Angie Nutt]

I don’t see it as disgusting at all, just another way. I read a book in 
whatever way I can get it and for years have used text to speech, braille, 
human narration. It is sad if it takes work away from people but on the upside 
it should allow for books to be produced faster, thereby, more books. That 
thought makes me happy.

All the best
Angie


> On 17 Mar 2023, at 13:49, Barbara Stahl  wrote:
> 
> The article in this email tells you how to find these type of audiobooks 
> using the Books app just scroll down the email to find it
> 
> 
> Begin forwarded message:
> 
>> From: Barbara Stahl 
>> Date: January 14, 2023 at 10:57:50 AM EST
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an 
>> AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>> 
>> I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is 
>> surprisingly good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever be better 
>> than human narration for me.  And its totally wrong for companies to try to 
>> replace people with robots just for profet.  Its disgusting.  
>> 
>>> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long  wrote:
>>> 
>>> I completely agree.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Dennis Long
>>> Sent from my iPhone SE 3
>>> 
 On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:
 
 While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest 
 quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating 
 human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the 
 same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a 
 good supply of human narrated audio for many years to come.
 
 Alan Lemly
 
 -Original Message-
 From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M. 
 Taylor
 Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
 To: viphone@googlegroups.com
 Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
 Robot, Mac Daily News
 
 Hello Everyone,
 
 I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and 
 explored the selection.
 
 I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
 
 While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose, I 
 purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
 
 I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
 
 Enjoy,
 
 Mark
 
 Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot 
 MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a 
 selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a 
 catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and 
 voice synthesis technologies it developed.
 By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
 
 The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with 
 technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped 
 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global 
 market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
 On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the 
 catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as being 
 "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".
 
 Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant 
 shift in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.
 Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the 
 strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the 
 market.
 
 MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview can 
 be heard via Apple Books here.
 
 Original Article at:
 https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-au
 diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/
 
 
 --
 The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone 
 list.
 
 If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or 
 if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the 
 owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
 
 Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  
 mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at 
 caraqu...@caraquinn.com
 
 The archives for this list can be searched at:
 http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
 ---
 You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
 "VIPhone" group.
 To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an 
 email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
 To view this discussion on the web visit 
 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Jody ianuzzi]

I disagree, I don’t think it’s disgusting that they are introducing new 
technology for reading books. Having a human narrator is extremely time 
consuming! I listen to books from Bookshare which are not available in any 
other source and I use the speech on my phone to listen to them. When I really 
get into a book I move past the sound of the voice and just absorb the Contant. 
 

If these books become available in this format then I’m all for it

JODY

To Boldly Go   


thunderwalker...@gmail.com 

"What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO BARRIERS  Erik 
Weihenmayer

> On Mar 17, 2023, at 9:50 AM, Barbara Stahl  
> wrote:
> 
> 
> The article in this email tells you how to find these type of audiobooks 
> using the Books app just scroll down the email to find it
> 
> 
> Begin forwarded message:
> 
>> From: Barbara Stahl 
>> Date: January 14, 2023 at 10:57:50 AM EST
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an 
>> AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>> 
>> I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is 
>> surprisingly good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever be better 
>> than human narration for me.  And its totally wrong for companies to try to 
>> replace people with robots just for profet.  Its disgusting.  
>> 
>>> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long  wrote:
>>> 
>>> I completely agree.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Dennis Long
>>> Sent from my iPhone SE 3
>>> 
> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:
 
 While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest 
 quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating 
 human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the 
 same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a 
 good supply of human narrated audio for many years to come.
 
 Alan Lemly
 
 -Original Message-
 From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M. 
 Taylor
 Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
 To: viphone@googlegroups.com
 Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
 Robot, Mac Daily News
 
 Hello Everyone,
 
 I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and 
 explored the selection.
 
 I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
 
 While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose, I 
 purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
 
 I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
 
 Enjoy,
 
 Mark
 
 Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot 
 MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a 
 selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a 
 catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and 
 voice synthesis technologies it developed.
 By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
 
 The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with 
 technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped 
 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global 
 market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
 On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the 
 catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as being 
 "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".
 
 Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant 
 shift in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.
 Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the 
 strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the 
 market.
 
 MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview can 
 be heard via Apple Books here.
 
 Original Article at:
 https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-au
 diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/
 
 
 --
 The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone 
 list.
 
 If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or 
 if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the 
 owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
 
 Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  
 mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at 
 caraqu...@caraquinn.com
 
 The archives for this list can be searched at:
 http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
 ---
 You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Dan Yates]

I listened to the preview and it is scary good!! Absolutely amazing, we’ve come a long way since Deck talk, haven’t we? Lol.DanSent from my iPhoneOn Jan 14, 2023, at 8:17 PM, Esther Levegnale  wrote:I totally agree with you. There is nothing like a human voice reading a book. EstherSent From Esther's Amazing and Awesome iPhone 13 Pro Max!On Jan 14, 2023, at 10:57 AM, Barbara Stahl  wrote:I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is surprisingly good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever be better than human narration for me.  And its totally wrong for companies to try to replace people with robots just for profet.  Its disgusting.  On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long  wrote:I completely agree.Dennis LongSent from my iPhone SE 3On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a good supply of human narrated audio for many years to come.Alan Lemly-Original Message-From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M. TaylorSent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PMTo: viphone@googlegroups.comSubject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily NewsHello Everyone,I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and explored the selection.I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose, I purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.Enjoy,MarkApple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and voice synthesis technologies it developed.By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as being "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant shift in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the market.MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview can be heard via Apple Books here.Original Article at:https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-audiobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/--The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.comThe archives for this list can be searched at:http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/---You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group.To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/003201d926f6%24f71d1970%24e5574c50%24%40ucla.edu.-- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.comThe archives for this list can be searched at:http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/--- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group.To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/051801d927de%2459ba39e0%240d2eada0%24%40gmail.com.-- The following information is 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Joshua Hendrickson]

I listened to the first sample.  I have heard some human read audio
books that were worse then this AI reader.  Alexa isn't nearly as
good.  I use voice dream reader for listening to bookshare books.  I
have no problems listening to TTS books.  The synthetic voices are
getting better and better.

On 1/19/23, Leo Bado  wrote:
> Well, by the time I got to listen to them, I had already learned that they
> were AI voices.
>
> Best,
>  Leo Bado
>
> -Original Message-
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of
> Sieghard Weitzel
> Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2023 12:27 AM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an
> AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>
> Have you listened to these samples? If I didn't know these were digital/AI
> generated voices I would not have guessed it.
>
> -Original Message-
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of
> literophi...@myself.com
> Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 4:50 PM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an
> AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>
> Well, all I can say is that, in all certainty, I flatly believe that such
> digital voices are quite good for some books, not for all. However, I also
> believe that is fair to say that AI is just going to get better at this
> point. Inflection and intonation based on particular emotions shouldn't be
> too difficult to emulate in the future. In all likelihood, this is already a
> factual phenomenon in AI labs.
>
> Best,
>  Leo Bado
>
> -Original Message-
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of
> Sieghard Weitzel
> Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 5:37 PM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an
> AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>
> So I must admit that is quite amazing and I wonder exactly what is involved
> when they say "This is an Apple Books audiobook narrated by a digital voice
> based on a human narrator" I guess Siri is or at least was based on this
> ladie's voice, forgot her name when Siri originally came out, but it
> certainly did not sound this good and neither do the Siri voices sound this
> good now. I wonder if such voices will be available as Voiceover voices at
> some point.
>
> -Original Message-
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of
> literophi...@myself.com
> Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 5:01 AM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an
> AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>
> Click on the following two links to listen to an audio sample:
> Book 1:
> https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1640359031
> book 2:
> https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1636546592
>
> Best,
>  Leo Bado
>
> -Original Message-
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Amy
> Ruell
> Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 3:15 AM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an
> AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>
> Where can I find a sample of the AI Apple books?
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Jan 18, 2023, at 12:24 AM, Ketan Kothari  wrote:
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Although I have yet not tried the AI narrated book could anyone please
>> explain difference between a electronic voice such as vocallizer or
>> eloquence synthesizer voice and AI narrated book?  Thank you.
>>
>> Ketan Kothari from Mumbai India
>>
>>> On 14/01/2023, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the
>>> highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by
>>> eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated
>>> book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll
>>> continue to have a good supply of human narrated audio for many years to
>>> come.
>>>
>>> Alan Lemly
>>>
>>> -Original Message-
>>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of
>>> M.
>>> Taylor
>>> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
>>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>>> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by
>>> an AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>>>
>>> Hello Everyone,
>>>
>>> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and
>>> explored the selection.
>>>
>>> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
>>>
>>> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to
>>> choose, I purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>>>
>>> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>>>
>>> Enjoy,
>>>
>>> Mark
>>>
>>> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI
>>> robot MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly
>>> launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has
>>> quietly launched a catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using
>>> artificial intelligence and voice synthesis technologies 

RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Leo Bado]

Well, by the time I got to listen to them, I had already learned that they were 
AI voices.

Best,
 Leo Bado

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Sieghard 
Weitzel
Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2023 12:27 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Have you listened to these samples? If I didn't know these were digital/AI 
generated voices I would not have guessed it.

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of 
literophi...@myself.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 4:50 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Well, all I can say is that, in all certainty, I flatly believe that such 
digital voices are quite good for some books, not for all. However, I also 
believe that is fair to say that AI is just going to get better at this point. 
Inflection and intonation based on particular emotions shouldn't be too 
difficult to emulate in the future. In all likelihood, this is already a 
factual phenomenon in AI labs.

Best,
 Leo Bado

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Sieghard 
Weitzel
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 5:37 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

So I must admit that is quite amazing and I wonder exactly what is involved 
when they say "This is an Apple Books audiobook narrated by a digital voice 
based on a human narrator" I guess Siri is or at least was based on this 
ladie's voice, forgot her name when Siri originally came out, but it certainly 
did not sound this good and neither do the Siri voices sound this good now. I 
wonder if such voices will be available as Voiceover voices at some point.

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of 
literophi...@myself.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 5:01 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Click on the following two links to listen to an audio sample:
Book 1:
https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1640359031
book 2:
https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1636546592

Best,
 Leo Bado

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Amy Ruell
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 3:15 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Where can I find a sample of the AI Apple books?

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jan 18, 2023, at 12:24 AM, Ketan Kothari  wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> Although I have yet not tried the AI narrated book could anyone please 
> explain difference between a electronic voice such as vocallizer or 
> eloquence synthesizer voice and AI narrated book?  Thank you.
> 
> Ketan Kothari from Mumbai India
> 
>> On 14/01/2023, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the 
>> highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by 
>> eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated 
>> book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll 
>> continue to have a good supply of human narrated audio for many years to 
>> come.
>> 
>> Alan Lemly
>> 
>> -Original Message-
>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M.
>> Taylor
>> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by 
>> an AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>> 
>> Hello Everyone,
>> 
>> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and 
>> explored the selection.
>> 
>> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
>> 
>> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to 
>> choose, I purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>> 
>> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>> 
>> Enjoy,
>> 
>> Mark
>> 
>> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI 
>> robot MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly 
>> launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has 
>> quietly launched a catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using 
>> artificial intelligence and voice synthesis technologies it developed.
>> By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
>> 
>> The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, 
>> with technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last 
>> year jumped 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders 
>> believe the global market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
>> On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the 
>> catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are 

RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Sieghard Weitzel]

Alexa does not come even close to these voices and the quality of the narration.

From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Devin 
Prater
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 10:20 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Yep. Have Amazon Alexa read you a book. Emotion emulation is… at a good start.
Devin Prater
r.d.t.pra...@gmail.com

Https://devinprater.micro.blog


On Jan 18, 2023, at 6:50 PM,  
 wrote:

Well, all I can say is that, in all certainty, I flatly believe that such 
digital voices are quite good for some books, not for all. However, I also 
believe that is fair to say that AI is just going to get better at this point. 
Inflection and intonation based on particular emotions shouldn't be too 
difficult to emulate in the future. In all likelihood, this is already a 
factual phenomenon in AI labs.

Best,
Leo Bado

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Sieghard 
Weitzel
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 5:37 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

So I must admit that is quite amazing and I wonder exactly what is involved 
when they say "This is an Apple Books audiobook narrated by a digital voice 
based on a human narrator" I guess Siri is or at least was based on this 
ladie's voice, forgot her name when Siri originally came out, but it certainly 
did not sound this good and neither do the Siri voices sound this good now. I 
wonder if such voices will be available as Voiceover voices at some point.

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of 
literophi...@myself.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 5:01 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Click on the following two links to listen to an audio sample:
Book 1:
https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1640359031
book 2:
https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1636546592

Best,
Leo Bado

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Amy Ruell
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 3:15 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Where can I find a sample of the AI Apple books?

Sent from my iPhone


On Jan 18, 2023, at 12:24 AM, Ketan Kothari  wrote:

Hi all,

Although I have yet not tried the AI narrated book could anyone please
explain difference between a electronic voice such as vocallizer or
eloquence synthesizer voice and AI narrated book?  Thank you.

Ketan Kothari from Mumbai India


On 14/01/2023, Alan Lemly  wrote:
While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the
highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by
eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated
book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll
continue to have a good supply of human narrated audio for many years to come.

Alan Lemly

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M.
Taylor
Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by
an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

Hello Everyone,

I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and
explored the selection.

I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.

While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to
choose, I purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.

I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.

Enjoy,

Mark

Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI
robot MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly
launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has
quietly launched a catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using
artificial intelligence and voice synthesis technologies it developed.
By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:

The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years,
with technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last
year jumped 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders
believe the global market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the
catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as
being "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".

Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a
significant shift in how major technology companies see the future of 
audiobooks.
Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian
said the strategy, if successful, could have significant implications
for the market.

MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview
can 

RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Sieghard Weitzel]

Have you listened to these samples? If I didn't know these were digital/AI 
generated voices I would not have guessed it.

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of 
literophi...@myself.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 4:50 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Well, all I can say is that, in all certainty, I flatly believe that such 
digital voices are quite good for some books, not for all. However, I also 
believe that is fair to say that AI is just going to get better at this point. 
Inflection and intonation based on particular emotions shouldn't be too 
difficult to emulate in the future. In all likelihood, this is already a 
factual phenomenon in AI labs.

Best,
 Leo Bado

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Sieghard 
Weitzel
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 5:37 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

So I must admit that is quite amazing and I wonder exactly what is involved 
when they say "This is an Apple Books audiobook narrated by a digital voice 
based on a human narrator" I guess Siri is or at least was based on this 
ladie's voice, forgot her name when Siri originally came out, but it certainly 
did not sound this good and neither do the Siri voices sound this good now. I 
wonder if such voices will be available as Voiceover voices at some point.

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of 
literophi...@myself.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 5:01 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Click on the following two links to listen to an audio sample:
Book 1:
https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1640359031
book 2:
https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1636546592

Best,
 Leo Bado

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Amy Ruell
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 3:15 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Where can I find a sample of the AI Apple books?

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jan 18, 2023, at 12:24 AM, Ketan Kothari  wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> Although I have yet not tried the AI narrated book could anyone please 
> explain difference between a electronic voice such as vocallizer or 
> eloquence synthesizer voice and AI narrated book?  Thank you.
> 
> Ketan Kothari from Mumbai India
> 
>> On 14/01/2023, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the 
>> highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by 
>> eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated 
>> book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll 
>> continue to have a good supply of human narrated audio for many years to 
>> come.
>> 
>> Alan Lemly
>> 
>> -Original Message-
>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M.
>> Taylor
>> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by 
>> an AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>> 
>> Hello Everyone,
>> 
>> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and 
>> explored the selection.
>> 
>> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
>> 
>> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to 
>> choose, I purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>> 
>> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>> 
>> Enjoy,
>> 
>> Mark
>> 
>> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI 
>> robot MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly 
>> launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has 
>> quietly launched a catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using 
>> artificial intelligence and voice synthesis technologies it developed.
>> By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
>> 
>> The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, 
>> with technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last 
>> year jumped 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders 
>> believe the global market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
>> On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the 
>> catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as 
>> being "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".
>> 
>> Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a 
>> significant shift in how major technology companies see the future of 
>> audiobooks.
>> Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian 
>> said the strategy, if successful, could have significant implications 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Devin Prater]

Yep. Have Amazon Alexa read you a book. Emotion emulation is… at a good start.
Devin Prater
r.d.t.pra...@gmail.com

Https://devinprater.micro.blog

> On Jan 18, 2023, at 6:50 PM,  
>  wrote:
> 
> Well, all I can say is that, in all certainty, I flatly believe that such 
> digital voices are quite good for some books, not for all. However, I also 
> believe that is fair to say that AI is just going to get better at this 
> point. Inflection and intonation based on particular emotions shouldn't be 
> too difficult to emulate in the future. In all likelihood, this is already a 
> factual phenomenon in AI labs.
> 
> Best,
> Leo Bado
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of 
> Sieghard Weitzel
> Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 5:37 PM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
> Robot, Mac Daily News
> 
> So I must admit that is quite amazing and I wonder exactly what is involved 
> when they say "This is an Apple Books audiobook narrated by a digital voice 
> based on a human narrator" I guess Siri is or at least was based on this 
> ladie's voice, forgot her name when Siri originally came out, but it 
> certainly did not sound this good and neither do the Siri voices sound this 
> good now. I wonder if such voices will be available as Voiceover voices at 
> some point.
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of 
> literophi...@myself.com
> Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 5:01 AM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
> Robot, Mac Daily News
> 
> Click on the following two links to listen to an audio sample:
> Book 1:
> https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1640359031
> book 2:
> https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1636546592
> 
> Best,
> Leo Bado
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Amy 
> Ruell
> Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 3:15 AM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
> Robot, Mac Daily News
> 
> Where can I find a sample of the AI Apple books?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Jan 18, 2023, at 12:24 AM, Ketan Kothari  wrote:
>> 
>> Hi all,
>> 
>> Although I have yet not tried the AI narrated book could anyone please 
>> explain difference between a electronic voice such as vocallizer or 
>> eloquence synthesizer voice and AI narrated book?  Thank you.
>> 
>> Ketan Kothari from Mumbai India
>> 
>>> On 14/01/2023, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the 
>>> highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by 
>>> eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated 
>>> book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll 
>>> continue to have a good supply of human narrated audio for many years to 
>>> come.
>>> 
>>> Alan Lemly
>>> 
>>> -Original Message-
>>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M.
>>> Taylor
>>> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
>>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>>> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by 
>>> an AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>>> 
>>> Hello Everyone,
>>> 
>>> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and 
>>> explored the selection.
>>> 
>>> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
>>> 
>>> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to 
>>> choose, I purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>>> 
>>> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>>> 
>>> Enjoy,
>>> 
>>> Mark
>>> 
>>> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI 
>>> robot MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly 
>>> launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has 
>>> quietly launched a catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using 
>>> artificial intelligence and voice synthesis technologies it developed.
>>> By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
>>> 
>>> The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, 
>>> with technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last 
>>> year jumped 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders 
>>> believe the global market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
>>> On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the 
>>> catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as 
>>> being "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".
>>> 
>>> Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a 
>>> significant shift in how major technology companies see the future of 
>>> audiobooks.
>>> Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian 
>>> said the strategy, if successful, could have significant implications 
>>> for the market.
>>> 

RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[literophilus]

Well, all I can say is that, in all certainty, I flatly believe that such 
digital voices are quite good for some books, not for all. However, I also 
believe that is fair to say that AI is just going to get better at this point. 
Inflection and intonation based on particular emotions shouldn't be too 
difficult to emulate in the future. In all likelihood, this is already a 
factual phenomenon in AI labs.

Best,
 Leo Bado

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Sieghard 
Weitzel
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 5:37 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

So I must admit that is quite amazing and I wonder exactly what is involved 
when they say "This is an Apple Books audiobook narrated by a digital voice 
based on a human narrator" I guess Siri is or at least was based on this 
ladie's voice, forgot her name when Siri originally came out, but it certainly 
did not sound this good and neither do the Siri voices sound this good now. I 
wonder if such voices will be available as Voiceover voices at some point.

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of 
literophi...@myself.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 5:01 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Click on the following two links to listen to an audio sample:
Book 1:
https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1640359031
book 2:
https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1636546592

Best,
 Leo Bado

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Amy Ruell
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 3:15 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Where can I find a sample of the AI Apple books?

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jan 18, 2023, at 12:24 AM, Ketan Kothari  wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> Although I have yet not tried the AI narrated book could anyone please 
> explain difference between a electronic voice such as vocallizer or 
> eloquence synthesizer voice and AI narrated book?  Thank you.
> 
> Ketan Kothari from Mumbai India
> 
>> On 14/01/2023, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the 
>> highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by 
>> eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated 
>> book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll 
>> continue to have a good supply of human narrated audio for many years to 
>> come.
>> 
>> Alan Lemly
>> 
>> -Original Message-
>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M.
>> Taylor
>> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by 
>> an AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>> 
>> Hello Everyone,
>> 
>> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and 
>> explored the selection.
>> 
>> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
>> 
>> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to 
>> choose, I purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>> 
>> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>> 
>> Enjoy,
>> 
>> Mark
>> 
>> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI 
>> robot MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly 
>> launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has 
>> quietly launched a catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using 
>> artificial intelligence and voice synthesis technologies it developed.
>> By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
>> 
>> The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, 
>> with technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last 
>> year jumped 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders 
>> believe the global market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
>> On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the 
>> catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as 
>> being "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".
>> 
>> Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a 
>> significant shift in how major technology companies see the future of 
>> audiobooks.
>> Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian 
>> said the strategy, if successful, could have significant implications 
>> for the market.
>> 
>> MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview 
>> can be heard via Apple Books here.
>> 
>> Original Article at:
>> https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selectio
>> n-of-au
>> diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> The following information is important for all members of the V 
>> iPhone list.
>> 
>> If 

RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Sieghard Weitzel]

So I must admit that is quite amazing and I wonder exactly what is involved 
when they say "This is an Apple Books audiobook narrated by a digital voice 
based on a human narrator" I guess Siri is or at least was based on this 
ladie's voice, forgot her name when Siri originally came out, but it certainly 
did not sound this good and neither do the Siri voices sound this good now. I 
wonder if such voices will be available as Voiceover voices at some point.

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of 
literophi...@myself.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 5:01 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Click on the following two links to listen to an audio sample:
Book 1:
https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1640359031
book 2:
https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1636546592

Best,
 Leo Bado

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Amy Ruell
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 3:15 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Where can I find a sample of the AI Apple books?

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jan 18, 2023, at 12:24 AM, Ketan Kothari  wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> Although I have yet not tried the AI narrated book could anyone please 
> explain difference between a electronic voice such as vocallizer or 
> eloquence synthesizer voice and AI narrated book?  Thank you.
> 
> Ketan Kothari from Mumbai India
> 
>> On 14/01/2023, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the 
>> highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by 
>> eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated 
>> book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll 
>> continue to have a good supply of human narrated audio for many years to 
>> come.
>> 
>> Alan Lemly
>> 
>> -Original Message-
>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M.
>> Taylor
>> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by 
>> an AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>> 
>> Hello Everyone,
>> 
>> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and 
>> explored the selection.
>> 
>> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
>> 
>> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to 
>> choose, I purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>> 
>> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>> 
>> Enjoy,
>> 
>> Mark
>> 
>> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI 
>> robot MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly 
>> launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has 
>> quietly launched a catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using 
>> artificial intelligence and voice synthesis technologies it developed.
>> By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
>> 
>> The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, 
>> with technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last 
>> year jumped 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders 
>> believe the global market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
>> On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the 
>> catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as 
>> being "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".
>> 
>> Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a 
>> significant shift in how major technology companies see the future of 
>> audiobooks.
>> Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian 
>> said the strategy, if successful, could have significant implications 
>> for the market.
>> 
>> MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview 
>> can be heard via Apple Books here.
>> 
>> Original Article at:
>> https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selectio
>> n-of-au
>> diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> The following information is important for all members of the V 
>> iPhone list.
>> 
>> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, 
>> or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact 
>> the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
>> 
>> Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:
>> mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara 
>> at caraqu...@caraquinn.com
>> 
>> The archives for this list can be searched at:
>> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
>> ---
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google 
>> Groups "VIPhone" group.
>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, 
>> send 

RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[literophilus]

Click on the following two links to listen to an audio sample:
Book 1:
https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1640359031
book 2:
https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1636546592

Best,
 Leo Bado

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Amy Ruell
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 3:15 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Where can I find a sample of the AI Apple books?

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jan 18, 2023, at 12:24 AM, Ketan Kothari  wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> Although I have yet not tried the AI narrated book could anyone please
> explain difference between a electronic voice such as vocallizer or
> eloquence synthesizer voice and AI narrated book?  Thank you.
> 
> Ketan Kothari from Mumbai India
> 
>> On 14/01/2023, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest
>> quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating
>> human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the
>> same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a good
>> supply of human narrated audio for many years to come.
>> 
>> Alan Lemly
>> 
>> -Original Message-
>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M.
>> Taylor
>> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI
>> Robot, Mac Daily News
>> 
>> Hello Everyone,
>> 
>> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and explored
>> the selection.
>> 
>> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
>> 
>> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose, I
>> purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>> 
>> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>> 
>> Enjoy,
>> 
>> Mark
>> 
>> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot
>> MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a
>> selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a
>> catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and
>> voice synthesis technologies it developed.
>> By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
>> 
>> The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with
>> technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped
>> 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global
>> market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
>> On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the
>> catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as being
>> "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".
>> 
>> Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant
>> shift in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.
>> Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the
>> strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the
>> market.
>> 
>> MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview can be
>> heard via Apple Books here.
>> 
>> Original Article at:
>> https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-au
>> diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone
>> list.
>> 
>> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if
>> you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or
>> moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
>> 
>> Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:
>> mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
>> caraqu...@caraquinn.com
>> 
>> The archives for this list can be searched at:
>> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
>> ---
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
>> "VIPhone" group.
>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
>> email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion on the web visit
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/003201d926f6%24f71d1970%24e5574c50%24%40ucla.edu.
>> 
>> --
>> The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone
>> list.
>> 
>> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if
>> you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or
>> moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
>> 
>> Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:
>> mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
>> caraqu...@caraquinn.com
>> 
>> The archives for this list can be searched at:
>> 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Devin Prater]

Search for “AI Narration” in the books app.
Devin Prater
r.d.t.pra...@gmail.com

Https://devinprater.micro.blog

> On Jan 18, 2023, at 3:15 AM, Amy Ruell  wrote:
> 
> Where can I find a sample of the AI Apple books?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Jan 18, 2023, at 12:24 AM, Ketan Kothari  wrote:
>> 
>> Hi all,
>> 
>> Although I have yet not tried the AI narrated book could anyone please
>> explain difference between a electronic voice such as vocallizer or
>> eloquence synthesizer voice and AI narrated book?  Thank you.
>> 
>> Ketan Kothari from Mumbai India
>> 
>>> On 14/01/2023, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest
>>> quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating
>>> human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the
>>> same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a good
>>> supply of human narrated audio for many years to come.
>>> 
>>> Alan Lemly
>>> 
>>> -Original Message-
>>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M.
>>> Taylor
>>> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
>>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>>> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI
>>> Robot, Mac Daily News
>>> 
>>> Hello Everyone,
>>> 
>>> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and explored
>>> the selection.
>>> 
>>> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
>>> 
>>> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose, I
>>> purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>>> 
>>> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>>> 
>>> Enjoy,
>>> 
>>> Mark
>>> 
>>> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot
>>> MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a
>>> selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a
>>> catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and
>>> voice synthesis technologies it developed.
>>> By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
>>> 
>>> The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with
>>> technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped
>>> 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global
>>> market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
>>> On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the
>>> catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as being
>>> "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".
>>> 
>>> Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant
>>> shift in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.
>>> Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the
>>> strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the
>>> market.
>>> 
>>> MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview can be
>>> heard via Apple Books here.
>>> 
>>> Original Article at:
>>> https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-au
>>> diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --
>>> The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone
>>> list.
>>> 
>>> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if
>>> you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or
>>> moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
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>>> mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
>>> caraqu...@caraquinn.com
>>> 
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>>> 
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>>> "VIPhone" group.
>>> To unsubscribe from this group and 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Amy Ruell]

Where can I find a sample of the AI Apple books?

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jan 18, 2023, at 12:24 AM, Ketan Kothari  wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> Although I have yet not tried the AI narrated book could anyone please
> explain difference between a electronic voice such as vocallizer or
> eloquence synthesizer voice and AI narrated book?  Thank you.
> 
> Ketan Kothari from Mumbai India
> 
>> On 14/01/2023, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest
>> quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating
>> human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the
>> same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a good
>> supply of human narrated audio for many years to come.
>> 
>> Alan Lemly
>> 
>> -Original Message-
>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M.
>> Taylor
>> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI
>> Robot, Mac Daily News
>> 
>> Hello Everyone,
>> 
>> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and explored
>> the selection.
>> 
>> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
>> 
>> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose, I
>> purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>> 
>> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>> 
>> Enjoy,
>> 
>> Mark
>> 
>> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot
>> MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a
>> selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a
>> catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and
>> voice synthesis technologies it developed.
>> By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
>> 
>> The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with
>> technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped
>> 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global
>> market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
>> On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the
>> catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as being
>> "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".
>> 
>> Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant
>> shift in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.
>> Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the
>> strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the
>> market.
>> 
>> MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview can be
>> heard via Apple Books here.
>> 
>> Original Article at:
>> https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-au
>> diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone
>> list.
>> 
>> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if
>> you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or
>> moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
>> 
>> Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:
>> mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
>> caraqu...@caraquinn.com
>> 
>> The archives for this list can be searched at:
>> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
>> ---
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
>> "VIPhone" group.
>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
>> email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion on the web visit
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/003201d926f6%24f71d1970%24e5574c50%24%40ucla.edu.
>> 
>> --
>> The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone
>> list.
>> 
>> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if
>> you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or
>> moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
>> 
>> Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:
>> mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
>> caraqu...@caraquinn.com
>> 
>> The archives for this list can be searched at:
>> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
>> ---
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
>> "VIPhone" group.
>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
>> email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion on the web visit
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/051801d927de%2459ba39e0%240d2eada0%24%40gmail.com.
>> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Ketan Kothari
> Phone: [r] 02228283281,

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Ketan Kothari]

Hi all,

Although I have yet not tried the AI narrated book could anyone please
explain difference between a electronic voice such as vocallizer or
eloquence synthesizer voice and AI narrated book?  Thank you.

Ketan Kothari from Mumbai India

On 14/01/2023, Alan Lemly  wrote:
> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest
> quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating
> human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the
> same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a good
> supply of human narrated audio for many years to come.
>
> Alan Lemly
>
> -Original Message-
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M.
> Taylor
> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI
> Robot, Mac Daily News
>
> Hello Everyone,
>
> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and explored
> the selection.
>
> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
>
> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose, I
> purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>
> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>
> Enjoy,
>
> Mark
>
> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot
> MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a
> selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a
> catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and
> voice synthesis technologies it developed.
> By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
>
> The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with
> technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped
> 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global
> market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
> On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the
> catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as being
> "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".
>
> Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant
> shift in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.
> Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the
> strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the
> market.
>
> MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview can be
> heard via Apple Books here.
>
> Original Article at:
> https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-au
> diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/
>
>
> --
> The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone
> list.
>
> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if
> you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or
> moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
>
> Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:
> mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
> caraqu...@caraquinn.com
>
> The archives for this list can be searched at:
> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
> ---
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "VIPhone" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/003201d926f6%24f71d1970%24e5574c50%24%40ucla.edu.
>
> --
> The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone
> list.
>
> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if
> you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or
> moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
>
> Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:
> mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
> caraqu...@caraquinn.com
>
> The archives for this list can be searched at:
> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
> ---
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "VIPhone" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/051801d927de%2459ba39e0%240d2eada0%24%40gmail.com.
>


-- 
Ketan Kothari
Phone: [r] 02228283281,
Cell: +919987550614
+917021054612
Facebook:  facebook.com/muktaketan
Twitter:  @muktaketan
Skype ID: Ketan

-- 
The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.

If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you 
feel that a 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Lelia Struve]

Hi all, I actually thought that was a fairly good example of human narration so far.  I can definitely see better in the future. Nothing is better than a human narrator and I don't want narrators jobs taken away by a.i but wow!Lelia Sent from my iPhoneOn Jan 14, 2023, at 10:28 PM, Devin Prater  wrote:AI still has the issues of normal speech synthesis. I was listening to the sample of one, and it couldn't tell the difference between the present and past tense of the word "read." They'll still have pronunciation issues, and I would never want it to read a Brandon Sanderson book.Just imagine:“Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar, wore white on the day he was to kill a king"Yeah no. Alex on the iPhone already has trouble reading some names in harry Potter books and fanfics, like the French school members in the fourth book, like someone who was iconic to the book as Fleur Delacour. And this isn't just on Apple, every TTS voice is going to have problems and I hope Apple lets all authors know that.Devin Praterr.d.t.pra...@gmail.comOn Sat, Jan 14, 2023 at 12:08 AM Dennis Long  wrote:I completely agree.



Dennis Long
Sent from my iPhone SE 3

> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:
> 
> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a good supply of human narrated audio for many years to come.
> 
> Alan Lemly
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M. Taylor
> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News
> 
> Hello Everyone,
> 
> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and explored the selection.
> 
> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
> 
> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose, I purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
> 
> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Mark
> 
> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and voice synthesis technologies it developed.
> By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
> 
> The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
> On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as being "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".
> 
> Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant shift in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.
> Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the market.
> 
> MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview can be heard via Apple Books here.
> 
> Original Article at:
> https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-au
> diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/
> 
> 
> --
> The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.
> 
> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
> 
> Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com
> 
> The archives for this list can be searched at:
> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
> ---
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/003201d926f6%24f71d1970%24e5574c50%24%40ucla.edu.
> 
> -- 
> The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.
> 
> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
> 
> Your V 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Devin Prater]

AI still has the issues of normal speech synthesis. I was listening to the
sample of one, and it couldn't tell the difference between the present and
past tense of the word "read." They'll still have pronunciation issues, and
I would never want it to read a Brandon Sanderson book.

Just imagine:

“Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar, wore white on the day he was
to kill a king"

Yeah no. Alex on the iPhone already has trouble reading some names in harry
Potter books and fanfics, like the French school members in the fourth
book, like someone who was iconic to the book as Fleur Delacour. And this
isn't just on Apple, every TTS voice is going to have problems and I hope
Apple lets all authors know that.
Devin Prater
r.d.t.pra...@gmail.com




On Sat, Jan 14, 2023 at 12:08 AM Dennis Long  wrote:

> I completely agree.
>
>
>
> Dennis Long
> Sent from my iPhone SE 3
>
> > On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:
> >
> > While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest
> quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating
> human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the
> same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a good
> supply of human narrated audio for many years to come.
> >
> > Alan Lemly
> >
> > -Original Message-
> > From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of
> M. Taylor
> > Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
> > To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> > Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an
> AI Robot, Mac Daily News
> >
> > Hello Everyone,
> >
> > I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and
> explored the selection.
> >
> > I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
> >
> > While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose,
> I purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
> >
> > I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
> >
> > Enjoy,
> >
> > Mark
> >
> > Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot
> MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a
> selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a
> catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and
> voice synthesis technologies it developed.
> > By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
> >
> > The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years,
> with technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year
> jumped 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the
> global market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
> > On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the
> catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as being
> "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".
> >
> > Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant
> shift in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.
> > Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said
> the strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the
> market.
> >
> > MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview
> can be heard via Apple Books here.
> >
> > Original Article at:
> >
> https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-au
> > diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/
> >
> >
> > --
> > The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone
> list.
> >
> > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or
> if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the
> owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
> >
> > Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:
> mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
> caraqu...@caraquinn.com
> >
> > The archives for this list can be searched at:
> > http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
> > ---
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> Groups "VIPhone" group.
> > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send
> an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
> > To view this discussion on the web visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/003201d926f6%24f71d1970%24e5574c50%24%40ucla.edu
> .
> >
> > --
> > The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone
> list.
> >
> > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or
> if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the
> owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
> >
> > Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:
> mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
> caraqu...@caraquinn.com
> >
> > The 

RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Alan Lemly]

I will welcome AI narrated books especially in the nonfiction arena where voice 
acting isn't relevant. And I expect I'd prefer a well done AI narrated 
fictional work as opposed to a poorly done human narrated one. Like so much in 
a system where profits determine the allocation of resources, I hope a good 
balance can be reached so funds remain available to compensate those making 
their living doing voice narration. Because you're never going to convince me 
that AI will ever be able to replicate well done human voice acting.

Alan Lemly

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Evan 
Reese
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2023 3:32 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

I don't know, it wasn't all that long ago that we couldn't have imagined AI 
narrated books at all.

Things are moving fast, so I wouldn't be too quick to conclude that AI narrated 
books could never be of the same quality as human narrated ones.

And I don't see why we couldn't have both AI and human narrated books.

It seems very likely that there are a lot more books out there than there are 
human narrators to narrate them. So AI narrated books may well be a big boost 
to making more books accessible than otherwise would be the case.

Evan


On 1/14/2023 1:08 AM, Dennis Long wrote:
> I completely agree.
>
>
>
> Dennis Long
> Sent from my iPhone SE 3
>
>> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>>
>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest 
>> quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating 
>> human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the 
>> same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a good 
>> supply of human narrated audio for many years to come.
>>
>> Alan Lemly
>>
>> -Original Message-
>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf 
>> Of M. Taylor
>> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by 
>> an AI Robot, Mac Daily News
>>
>> Hello Everyone,
>>
>> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and explored 
>> the selection.
>>
>> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
>>
>> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose, I 
>> purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>>
>> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>>
>> Enjoy,
>>
>> Mark
>>
>> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot 
>> MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a 
>> selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a 
>> catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and 
>> voice synthesis technologies it developed.
>> By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
>>
>> The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with 
>> technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped 
>> 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global 
>> market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
>> On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the 
>> catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as being 
>> "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".
>>
>> Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant 
>> shift in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.
>> Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the 
>> strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the market.
>>
>> MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview can be 
>> heard via Apple Books here.
>>
>> Original Article at:
>> https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selectio
>> n-of-au
>> diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/
>>
>>
>> --
>> The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.
>>
>> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if 
>> you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or 
>> moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
>>
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>> mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara 
>> at caraqu...@caraquinn.com
>>
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>> 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Evan Reese]

Well, there's probably also nothing like a human voice reading a book badly.

Now I'm not dissing Learning Ally. I have used them quite a bit and 
learned a lot from the books I've gotten from them over many years. 
However, those of you who have used them very much at all will know that 
while some of their narrations are very good, and some are passable, 
some are downright terrible.


I would take AI narration over bad human narration any time.

Evan


On 1/14/2023 8:17 PM, Esther Levegnale wrote:
I totally agree with you. There is nothing like a human voice reading 
a book. Esther


Sent From Esther's Amazing and Awesome iPhone 13 Pro Max!

On Jan 14, 2023, at 10:57 AM, Barbara Stahl 
 wrote:


I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is 
surprisingly good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever be 
better than human narration for me.  And its totally wrong for 
companies to try to replace people with robots just for profet.  Its 
disgusting.



On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long  wrote:

I completely agree.



Dennis Long
Sent from my iPhone SE 3


On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:

While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the 
highest quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction 
by eliminating human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI 
narrated book to be of the same quality as a human narrated one and 
hope we'll continue to have a good supply of human narrated audio 
for many years to come.


Alan Lemly

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf 
Of M. Taylor

Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by 
an AI Robot, Mac Daily News


Hello Everyone,

I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and 
explored the selection.


I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.

While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to 
choose, I purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.


I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.

Enjoy,

Mark

Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI 
robot MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple 
quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot 
Apple has quietly launched a catalog of books narrated by an AI 
robot using artificial intelligence and voice synthesis 
technologies it developed.

By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:

The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent 
years, with technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. 
Sales last year jumped 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry 
insiders believe the global market could be worth more than $35bn 
by 2030.
On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals 
the catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described 
as being "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".


Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a 
significant shift in how major technology companies see the future 
of audiobooks.
Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian 
said the strategy, if successful, could have significant 
implications for the market.


MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A 
preview can be heard via Apple Books here.


Original Article at:
https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-au
diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/


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The archives for this list can be 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Esther Levegnale]

I totally agree with you. There is nothing like a human voice reading a book. 
Esther

Sent From Esther's Amazing and Awesome iPhone 13 Pro Max!

> On Jan 14, 2023, at 10:57 AM, Barbara Stahl  
> wrote:
> 
> I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is 
> surprisingly good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever be better than 
> human narration for me.  And its totally wrong for companies to try to 
> replace people with robots just for profet.  Its disgusting.  
> 
>> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long  wrote:
>> 
>> I completely agree.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Dennis Long
>> Sent from my iPhone SE 3
>> 
 On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>>> 
>>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest 
>>> quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating 
>>> human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the 
>>> same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a good 
>>> supply of human narrated audio for many years to come.
>>> 
>>> Alan Lemly
>>> 
>>> -Original Message-
>>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M. 
>>> Taylor
>>> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
>>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>>> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
>>> Robot, Mac Daily News
>>> 
>>> Hello Everyone,
>>> 
>>> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and 
>>> explored the selection.
>>> 
>>> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
>>> 
>>> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose, I 
>>> purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>>> 
>>> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>>> 
>>> Enjoy,
>>> 
>>> Mark
>>> 
>>> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot 
>>> MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a 
>>> selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a 
>>> catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and 
>>> voice synthesis technologies it developed.
>>> By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
>>> 
>>> The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with 
>>> technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped 
>>> 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global 
>>> market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
>>> On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the 
>>> catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as being 
>>> "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".
>>> 
>>> Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant 
>>> shift in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.
>>> Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the 
>>> strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the market.
>>> 
>>> MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview can 
>>> be heard via Apple Books here.
>>> 
>>> Original Article at:
>>> https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-au
>>> diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --
>>> The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.
>>> 
>>> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if 
>>> you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners 
>>> or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
>>> 
>>> Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  
>>> mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at 
>>> caraqu...@caraquinn.com
>>> 
>>> The archives for this list can be searched at:
>>> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
>>> ---
>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
>>> "VIPhone" group.
>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an 
>>> email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
>>> To view this discussion on the web visit 
>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/003201d926f6%24f71d1970%24e5574c50%24%40ucla.edu.
>>> 
>>> -- 
>>> The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.
>>> 
>>> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if 
>>> you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners 
>>> or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
>>> 
>>> Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  
>>> mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at 
>>> caraqu...@caraquinn.com
>>> 
>>> The archives for this list can be searched at:
>>> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
>>> --- 
>>> You received this message 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Evan Reese]

I get the feeling that some people here are comparing AI narrated books 
to those professionally narrated by the best in the business, as from 
Audible.


But that is the wrong comparison.

Firstly, for those reading nonfiction, you don't need a professional 
dramatic performance of a book.


Also, there are tons of magazines out there that could be AI narrated 
but that aren't because there are not enough human narrators, or the 
funds, to do the job.


If it comes down to material being accessible via AI narration, or not 
accessible at all, I think many people will overcome their prejudices 
and listen to them.


Also, AI narration is a fast moving technology. As I said, it would be 
unwise to claim that it could never be as good as the best human 
narration. But even if it never does get that good, there are still a 
lot of areas where it would be very useful in filling an accessibility void.


Evan


On 1/14/2023 3:04 PM, Sieghard Weitzel wrote:


There are many examples where robots or robotic processes can do things much 
faster and  more accurately than humans and in principle there is nothing wrong 
with utilizing technology we developed to improve the manufacturing process or 
even health care.
In the context of audio books I am also a huge fan of human narration and I for 
one wouldn't listen to an e-Book read by a synthesized voice if you paid me.
As for books read by AI I can't say, guess in a way it's still a synthesized 
voice, but if it is really that good I might listen to it although my guess is 
that I would still prefer a good human narrator. Of course sometimes you also 
get not very good narrators especially with books from the public domain, so 
here a really good AI maybe will do a better job.

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Barbara 
Stahl
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2023 7:58 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is surprisingly 
good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever be better than human 
narration for me.  And its totally wrong for companies to try to replace people 
with robots just for profet.  Its disgusting.


On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long  wrote:

I completely agree.



Dennis Long
Sent from my iPhone SE 3


On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:

While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest 
quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating human 
voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the same 
quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a good supply 
of human narrated audio for many years to come.

Alan Lemly

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M. Taylor
Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Hello Everyone,

I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and explored 
the selection.

I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.

While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose, I purchased a 
title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.

I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.

Enjoy,

Mark

Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot 
MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a 
selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a 
catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and 
voice synthesis technologies it developed.
By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:

The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with 
technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped 25%, 
bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global market could 
be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the catalogue of works 
included in the scheme, which are described as being "narrated by digital voice based on a 
human narrator".

Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant shift 
in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.
Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the 
strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the market.

MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview can be 
heard via Apple Books here.

Original Article at:
https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-au
diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/


--
The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.

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Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Evan Reese]

I don't know, it wasn't all that long ago that we couldn't have imagined 
AI narrated books at all.


Things are moving fast, so I wouldn't be too quick to conclude that AI 
narrated books could never be of the same quality as human narrated ones.


And I don't see why we couldn't have both AI and human narrated books.

It seems very likely that there are a lot more books out there than 
there are human narrators to narrate them. So AI narrated books may well 
be a big boost to making more books accessible than otherwise would be 
the case.


Evan


On 1/14/2023 1:08 AM, Dennis Long wrote:

I completely agree.



Dennis Long
Sent from my iPhone SE 3


On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:

While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest 
quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating human 
voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the same 
quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a good supply 
of human narrated audio for many years to come.

Alan Lemly

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M. Taylor
Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Hello Everyone,

I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and explored 
the selection.

I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.

While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose, I purchased a 
title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.

I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.

Enjoy,

Mark

Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot 
MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a 
selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a 
catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and 
voice synthesis technologies it developed.
By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:

The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with 
technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped 25%, 
bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global market could 
be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the catalogue of works 
included in the scheme, which are described as being "narrated by digital voice based on a 
human narrator".

Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant shift 
in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.
Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the 
strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the market.

MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview can be 
heard via Apple Books here.

Original Article at:
https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-au
diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/


--
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RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Sieghard Weitzel]

I am afraid it may come down to supply and demand, if people are willing to pay 
the extra cost it shouldn't be a problem, but look at the clothing industry, 
you get all this super cheap "fast fashion" which is incredible harmful for the 
planet yet people buy it by the truck load, it goes in the closet and with any 
luck the stuff may get worn once or twice before it gets tossed in the garbage. 
The problem of course is that even expensive clothing is made in the same 
countries and while of course better materials are being used, one still 
wonders how much you pay for the fact it has a certain name or logo on it. 
Couldn't clothing of the same quality and fit be made in the US or Canada and 
be sold for the same price? I am quite sure it could, but then somebody would 
have to pay $150 for a pair of jeans which doesn't say Hugo Boss or Lewis or 
whatever on it and then we have a problem.


-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Alan 
Lemly
Sent: Friday, January 13, 2023 10:07 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest quality, 
this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating human voice 
actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the same quality as a 
human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a good supply of human 
narrated audio for many years to come.

Alan Lemly

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M. Taylor
Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

Hello Everyone,

I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and explored 
the selection.

I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.

While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose, I 
purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.

I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.

Enjoy,

Mark

Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot 
MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a 
selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a 
catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and 
voice synthesis technologies it developed.
By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:

The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with 
technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped 25%, 
bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global market could 
be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the catalogue 
of works included in the scheme, which are described as being "narrated by 
digital voice based on a human narrator".

Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant shift 
in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.
Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the 
strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the market.

MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview can be 
heard via Apple Books here.

Original Article at:
https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-au
diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/


--
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feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or 
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mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at 
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The archives for this list can be searched at:
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caraqu...@caraquinn.com

The archives for this list can be searched at:

RE: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Sieghard Weitzel]

There are many examples where robots or robotic processes can do things much 
faster and  more accurately than humans and in principle there is nothing wrong 
with utilizing technology we developed to improve the manufacturing process or 
even health care.
In the context of audio books I am also a huge fan of human narration and I for 
one wouldn't listen to an e-Book read by a synthesized voice if you paid me.
As for books read by AI I can't say, guess in a way it's still a synthesized 
voice, but if it is really that good I might listen to it although my guess is 
that I would still prefer a good human narrator. Of course sometimes you also 
get not very good narrators especially with books from the public domain, so 
here a really good AI maybe will do a better job.

-Original Message-
From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Barbara 
Stahl
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2023 7:58 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
Robot, Mac Daily News

I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is surprisingly 
good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever be better than human 
narration for me.  And its totally wrong for companies to try to replace people 
with robots just for profet.  Its disgusting.  

> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long  wrote:
> 
> I completely agree.
> 
> 
> 
> Dennis Long
> Sent from my iPhone SE 3
> 
>> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>> 
>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest 
>> quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating 
>> human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the 
>> same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a good 
>> supply of human narrated audio for many years to come.
>> 
>> Alan Lemly
>> 
>> -Original Message-
>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M. 
>> Taylor
>> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
>> Robot, Mac Daily News
>> 
>> Hello Everyone,
>> 
>> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and explored 
>> the selection.
>> 
>> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
>> 
>> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose, I 
>> purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>> 
>> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>> 
>> Enjoy,
>> 
>> Mark
>> 
>> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot 
>> MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a 
>> selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a 
>> catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and 
>> voice synthesis technologies it developed.
>> By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
>> 
>> The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with 
>> technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped 
>> 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global 
>> market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
>> On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the 
>> catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as being 
>> "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".
>> 
>> Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant 
>> shift in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.
>> Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the 
>> strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the market.
>> 
>> MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview can be 
>> heard via Apple Books here.
>> 
>> Original Article at:
>> https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-au
>> diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/
>> 
>> 
>> --
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>> 
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>> you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or 
>> moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
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>> caraqu...@caraquinn.com
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>> 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Barbara Stahl]

I listened to the preview link in the article and the narration is surprisingly 
good.  But I completely agree, nothing could ever be better than human 
narration for me.  And its totally wrong for companies to try to replace people 
with robots just for profet.  Its disgusting.  

> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:08 AM, Dennis Long  wrote:
> 
> I completely agree.
> 
> 
> 
> Dennis Long
> Sent from my iPhone SE 3
> 
>> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:
>> 
>> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest 
>> quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating 
>> human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the 
>> same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a good 
>> supply of human narrated audio for many years to come.
>> 
>> Alan Lemly
>> 
>> -Original Message-
>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M. 
>> Taylor
>> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
>> Robot, Mac Daily News
>> 
>> Hello Everyone,
>> 
>> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and explored 
>> the selection.
>> 
>> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
>> 
>> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose, I 
>> purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
>> 
>> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
>> 
>> Enjoy,
>> 
>> Mark
>> 
>> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot 
>> MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a 
>> selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a 
>> catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and 
>> voice synthesis technologies it developed.
>> By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
>> 
>> The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with 
>> technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped 
>> 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global 
>> market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
>> On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the 
>> catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as being 
>> "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".
>> 
>> Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant 
>> shift in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.
>> Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the 
>> strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the market.
>> 
>> MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview can be 
>> heard via Apple Books here.
>> 
>> Original Article at:
>> https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-au
>> diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.
>> 
>> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if 
>> you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or 
>> moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
>> 
>> Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  
>> mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at 
>> caraqu...@caraquinn.com
>> 
>> The archives for this list can be searched at:
>> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
>> ---
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
>> "VIPhone" group.
>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an 
>> email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion on the web visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/003201d926f6%24f71d1970%24e5574c50%24%40ucla.edu.
>> 
>> -- 
>> The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.
>> 
>> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if 
>> you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or 
>> moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
>> 
>> Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  
>> mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at 
>> caraqu...@caraquinn.com
>> 
>> The archives for this list can be searched at:
>> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
>> --- 
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
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>> To view this discussion on the web visit 
>> 

Re: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI Robot, Mac Daily News

[Dennis Long]

I completely agree.



Dennis Long
Sent from my iPhone SE 3

> On Jan 14, 2023, at 1:06 AM, Alan Lemly  wrote:
> 
> While I certainly want any AI rendered audiobooks to be of the highest 
> quality, this feels like the next phase of cost reduction by eliminating 
> human voice actors. I can't ever imagine an AI narrated book to be of the 
> same quality as a human narrated one and hope we'll continue to have a good 
> supply of human narrated audio for many years to come.
> 
> Alan Lemly
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of M. 
> Taylor
> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 8:30 PM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Apple Quietly Launches a Selection of Audiobooks Voiced by an AI 
> Robot, Mac Daily News
> 
> Hello Everyone,
> 
> I was Fascinated by this article so quickly went to Apple Books and explored 
> the selection.
> 
> I must say, I am amazed at the quality of the AI Rendering of the text.
> 
> While there are several free AI voiced audio books from which to choose, I 
> purchased a title called "WildWood" by Elinor Florence.
> 
> I will be posting a second article on this in a little while.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Mark
> 
> Apple quietly launches a selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot 
> MacDailyNews - Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:36 PM Apple quietly launches a 
> selection of audiobooks voiced by an AI robot Apple has quietly launched a 
> catalog of books narrated by an AI robot using artificial intelligence and 
> voice synthesis technologies it developed.
> By Leyland Cecco, for The Guardian:
> 
> The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with 
> technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped 
> 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global 
> market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.
> On the company's Books app, searching for "AI narration" reveals the 
> catalogue of works included in the scheme, which are described as being 
> "narrated by digital voice based on a human narrator".
> 
> Apple's development of AI to narrate books could represent a significant 
> shift in how major technology companies see the future of audiobooks.
> Publishers, authors and literary agents who spoke to the Guardian said the 
> strategy, if successful, could have significant implications for the market.
> 
> MacDailyNews Take: At first listen, it doesn't sound awful. A preview can be 
> heard via Apple Books here.
> 
> Original Article at:
> https://macdailynews.com/2023/01/06/apple-quietly-launches-a-selection-of-au
> diobooks-voiced-by-an-ai-robot/
> 
> 
> --
> The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.
> 
> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if 
> you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or 
> moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
> 
> Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  
> mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at 
> caraqu...@caraquinn.com
> 
> The archives for this list can be searched at:
> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
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> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
> "VIPhone" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an 
> email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
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> 
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> The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.
> 
> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if 
> you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or 
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> Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  
> mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at 
> caraqu...@caraquinn.com
> 
> The archives for this list can be searched at:
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> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
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