Meta Adds Celebrity Voices and Real-Time Conversations to Its AI Chatbots

Meta has unveiled a new voice mode for its AI chatbot, featuring celebrity voices like John Cena, Judi Dench, Kristen Bell, Awkwafina, and Keegan-Michael Key.

The update, announced during the Meta Connect conference, allows users to have real-time voice conversations with the AI across Meta’s platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads.

This move comes as Meta aims to rival competitors like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which recently launched its own voice features.

The celebrity voices were developed through formal partnerships, ensuring ethical use, unlike the controversy OpenAI faced with a Scarlett Johansson-like voice.

Meta also announced other AI advancements, including AI-generated content and auto-translated Reels in foreign languages.

Key Points:

Meta has introduced real-time voice conversations to its AI chatbot, Meta AI.
Celebrity voices, including John Cena and Judi Dench, have been added to the AI platform.
The update is available across Meta’s social apps: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads.
Meta’s AI chatbot aims to rival ChatGPT’s voice mode, which sparked controversy over voice likenesses.
Other AI updates include auto-translated Reels.
Meta will also start to generate and share AI-generated images to users’ feeds based on their ‘interests or current trends.’”
The announcement was part of Meta’s annual Meta Connect conference.

Key Quotes:

“Meta AI is on track to be ‘the most used AI assistant in the world’ by the end of this year.” — Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO.

Implications: Meta’s push to incorporate celebrity voices and real-time conversations with its AI could enhance user engagement, particularly across its vast user base, by offering a more interactive and entertaining AI experience.

However, the rise of AI-generated content and synthetic interactions raises questions about the future of social media authenticity.

With AI-generated images and auto-translated Reels becoming more prominent, users may increasingly interact with algorithm-driven content rather than with posts from real people, which could spark debates over digital trust and content manipulation.

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/25/tech/meta-ai-celebrities-chatbots/index.html