Can not sleep? Listen to an AI-generated bedtime story from Jimmy Stewart.
You can’t fall asleep. You’re tossing and turning. You want someone to read you a fun, wholesome bedtime story. And you want that someone to be the actor Jimmy Stewart.
Sleep and meditation app Calm has released a new story for premium users, narrated by Mr. Stewart, the beloved actor who starred in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” But the voice in their ear that lulls them to sleep does not belong to Mr. Stewart, who died in 1997. It’s a version of his signature accent, generated by artificial intelligence.
“Well, Hello. My name is James Stewart, but you can call me Jimmy. Tonight I’m going to tell you a story,” begins the clone of Mr. Stewart’s voice, telling listeners to make themselves “pleasant and comfortable.” .
“It’s a heartwarming story about love, loss, hope and joy,” the voice continues. “But above all, it is a beautiful sleep story.”
The app is known for its ‘Sleep Stories’ – stories read by celebrities like Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey and Harry Styles to help users fall asleep. But for its Stewart story it enlisted the help of Reply, a company based in Ukraine that uses AI to produce synthetic speech and clone voices. Respeecher said in a statement that CMG Worldwide, the company that manages Mr. Stewart’s licenses, has approved the project.
Calm and CMG Worldwide did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
To revive Mr. Stewart’s voice, Respeecher fed an old recording of the actor into his system and combined it with that of a voice actor reading the new story, creating a performance that “retains all the important little inflections “, the statement said. said.
The use of AI to recreate the likenesses or voices of public figures in film, television and other content has become a controversial topic. Meta, for example, has introduced AI-powered characters based on celebrities like rapper Snoop Dogg and former NFL quarterback Tom Brady, which it will soon incorporate into its products.
However, critics have raised questions about the ethics and regulation of the practice. The use of AI by studios and entertainment companies was one of the concerns at the center of this year’s strikes by Hollywood writers and actors.
Last month, actor Tom Hanks and news anchor Gayle King warned their social media followers that their likenesses had been used in unauthorized advertisements. Cybersecurity experts have also warned that technology such as ‘voice deep fakes’ could help scammers steal from people or companies or commit other crimes.
Mr. Stewart’s family and his estate agreed to the Calm project. according to Varietywho previously reported the story.
Reply, founded in 2018, has synthesized voices for 150 projects, including football coach Vince Lombardi. It is currently working with Warner Music France on an “animated biopic” of French artist Edith Piaf, who died in 1963, which will use AI to generate her likeness and voice.
The company said it does not allow its technology to be used for “deceptive purposes,” including applications that infringe on a person’s privacy and ability to find work.
“We know that voice replication technology can be dangerous in the wrong hands,” Respeecher says on its site.
“In practice, this means that we will never use the voice of a private individual or an actor without permission,” the site says, but adds that the company would allow “non-misleading uses” of historical figures and politicians.