Voice Cloning
AI technology that creates a synthetic replica of a specific person's voice from a small sample of their speech. Cloned voices can speak any text in the original person's vocal characteristics.
Why It Matters
Voice cloning enables personalized TTS, accessibility for those who have lost their voice, and content creation — but also powers voice fraud and deepfakes.
Example
ElevenLabs creating a voice clone from a 30-second audio clip that can then read any text with the same pitch, cadence, and emotional qualities as the original speaker.
Think of it like...
Like a vocal impressionist who can perfectly mimic someone after hearing them speak briefly — except the AI can sustain this indefinitely and for any content.
Related Terms
Text-to-Speech
AI technology that converts written text into natural-sounding human speech. Modern TTS systems can generate voices with realistic intonation, emotion, and even clone specific voices.
Deep Fake
AI-generated media (especially video and audio) that convincingly depicts real people saying or doing things they never actually said or did. Created using deep learning techniques.
Synthetic Media
AI-generated or AI-manipulated content including images, audio, video, and text that can be difficult to distinguish from authentic content. This includes deepfakes and AI-generated voices.