James Dean died at 24 but soon, he will be able to read you a bedtime story.
That’s because ElevenLabs, a leading AI platform that has developed deep expertise in synthesizing the human voice, has struck a licensing agreement for the voices of:
- James Dean (d. 1955)
- Judy Garland (d. 1968)
- Laurence Olivier (d. 1989)
- Burt Reynolds (d. 2018)
Their estates have signed the agreements, and ElevenLabs now has full ability to exploit their voices for its Reader App, which reads articles, PDFs, newsletters or any other written content.
What do we gain by bringing back these screen legends from the grave?
AI does not resurrect the dead (although this documentary makes the argument); it is a digital simulacrum that devalues these great artists.
I want to hear the real Judy Garland sing “Over the Rainbow,” I want to listen as James Dean screams, “You’re tearing me apart” and I want to sit in rapture as Olivier delivers a Shakespeare monologue.
For the love of God, don’t make them read lesser works that they have not agreed to.
No matter how good AI gets, human connection with other humans is the very foundation of humanity, and as storytellers, we should never lose sight of that fact.
Liza Minnelli (Garland’s daughter), in her infinite sweetness, noted that:
“It’s exciting to see our mother’s voice available to the countless millions of people who love her. Through the spectacular new technology offered by ElevenLabs, our family believes that this will bring new fans to Mama, and be exciting to those who already cherish the unparalleled legacy that Mama gave and continues to give to the world.”
It’s not as if her mama’s voice is being used to promote derivatives of work in which she performed, e.g., Garland voicing a new introduction to The Wizard of Oz.
Instead, the great and mysterious voice behind the curtain will not be Garland’s but a machine. And these nefarious attempts by AI companies to inject themselves into every facet of our society, to exploit our cultural connections to beloved figures as a gateway drug to mass adoption of the technology, are poisonous.