How does deepfake text to speech and audio work?

New technologies such as speech synthesis and text to speech (TTS) were designed to clone a person’s voice, making it sound incredibly realistic. Many users, such as filmmakers and video game developers, have benefited from using voice cloning to create high-quality voiceovers and custom voices for their characters. In this article, you’ll discover everything there is to know about deepfake TTS.

What is deepfaking?

Deepfaking is an artificial intelligence-based tool that utilizes deep learning to replace one person’s likeness with another on video or other multimedia files. Deep learning algorithms process and manipulate large amounts of data provided, and in the case of deepfaking, video clips of a person. With all this information, the algorithms learn and create new data to exchange faces in digital content. The result is fake media that looks incredibly realistic. The most common way to create deepfakes involves the use of neural networks. You’ll need a base video and additional short video clips of the same person. Providing the tool with as much information as possible, the software will be able to recreate the person’s face from every angle. The most developed apps even provide real-time deepfaking. Deepfake software can be found in an open-source community called GitHub. One example is Vall-E. The app has an Emotional Voices Database, which is used to provide personalized speech charged with an imitation of human emotions.

How does text to speech help with deepfaking?

Deepfaking is not only limited to video. AI technology has also developed a technique to recreate a human voice to the point users won’t be able to distinguish a generated voice from the original. As with deepfaking videos, a voice generator requires language model training. This training entails providing the software with as many voice recordings as possible so the AI technology can clone the speaker’s voice. These audio deepfakes have become popular on social media platforms.

Can you spot a deepfake voice?

While synthesizers are designed to create realistic voices, researchers have used fluid dynamics to spot the differences between human and synthetic voices. Deepfake voices are created by recreating a vocal tract not found in humans. So, while they might sound similar, they really aren’t. However, this technology keeps improving, and it will probably get to the point where telling apart a deepfake audio clip from a real voice will be nearly impossible. As most of the communication between people involves audio, such as voice messages and phone calls, deepfake voices have become a hazard. Many people can use speech models to deceive others.

Deepfake tech—The pros and cons

Pros

• Personalization—For brands, a deepfake allows them to create more relevant campaigns for their customers. For example, the brand can consider a customer’s ethnicity to create a model that would resemble them. That way, their target will know what the product would look like on them.
• Improved campaigns—With the in-person actor cost out of the way, companies can run omnichannel campaigns. Instead of one take for every channel, text to speech synthesis can be used to generate content for various marketing channels, such as podcasts and streaming services.
• Low-cost videos—The pricing for in-person actors is one of the highest of a campaign budget. For that reason, marketers are more inclined to acquire the license for an actor’s identity. Instead of recording the same audio clip multiple times, marketers can edit the deepfake.

Cons

• Ethical concerns—A brand can use deepfakes for multiple reasons. While most of them may be considered effective, such as increasing brand storytelling, others can be unethical and jeopardize the company’s reputation. One example of unethical usage of machine learning technology is a startup company that uses deepfakes to create company reviews.
• Scam risks—Many people have already been victims of deepfake scams. Deepfake voices sound so realistic no one dares to question the authenticity of a phone call.

Get natural-sounding AI voices with Speechify

Speechify is a text to speech app created to provide users with an audible version of their texts. You can create your content directly on the app or upload your docs. The app will automatically create an audio clip of your script for you to download. Additionally, Speechify allows you to customize the voiceover by changing the pitch and speed to your liking. It is also available in over 30 languages. The platform is compatible with Microsoft and Apple computers, Android, and iOS devices. Try Speechify’s Voice Over Generator today and start creating audio clips with natural-sounding AI voices.

FAQ

Is it possible to deepfake audio?

Yes, deepfake audio is also known as voice cloning or synthetic voice.

How do I get a deep voice in text to speech?

Many text to speech software have been developed to produce deep voice that sounds incredibly natural. Speechify, for example, supports 30 different voices, including male deep ones.

What is the audio version of a deepfake?

The audio version of a deepfake is a recording produced by an AI tool that clones a real person’s voice through deep learning. Tools such as Resemble.ai can create deepfake audio for entertainment.

Does 15.ai cost money?

No, 15.ai is a non-commercial freeware. However, the AI web application was taken down in 2022 for maintenance.

What is the difference between deepfake text to speech and deepfake audio?

Deepfake is an AI technology that recreates a person’s likeness on video, while deepfake audio focuses on the person’s voice. Text to speech, on the other hand, is a technology that transforms any text into an audible version. In the case of text to speech, however, the voice doesn’t purposely resemble voice actors or celebrities unless otherwise noted by the platform.

What is the best text to speech app?

Speechify is the best app available, with many useful features that allow users to create realistic audio files from their texts.

Why is deepfake audio so hard to detect?

Deepfake is based on a neural network algorithm that is designed to teach itself. The more information is fed to the system, the better it will learn how to replicate a human voice making it more difficult to identify.

How do I use deepfake?

A deepfake can be used for entertainment purposes or to create voiceovers for videos and other multimedia content.