The agreement will lead to the production of audio versions of select deep backlist series books that would not otherwise have been created, using ElevenLabs’s text-to-speech technology. According to ElevenLabs, the tech firm has developed an AI-based tool that can transform text into speech using artificial intelligence and makes it possible to “reflect the emotion, intonation, and pacing of the written word in audio, delivering a high-quality experience that sounds human”.
Source: HarperCollins and ElevenLabs AI to create audiobooks for foreign titles
While the big AI companies are delving into legal gray areas trying to find new sources of data for their Large Language Models, the situation for website operators and publishers is much more black and white. Traffic to websites is drying up — and a full-on drought could be about to hit, as search engines morph into generative AI chatbots.
The contract the Guild secured in September set a historic precedent: It is up to the writers whether and how they use generative AI as a tool to assist and complement—not replace—them. Ultimately, if generative AI is used, the contract stipulates that writers get full credit and compensation. The victory was important for writers, but its implications reverberate far beyond Hollywood.
