In the past decade or so, technology has evolved in leaps and bounds. The thing is, this isn’t going to stop any time soon either. Technology is going to keep evolving. We’re already in an age where capabilities such as artificial intelligence, voice recognition, machine learning and text-to-sound are already a reality.
The question now is, how will the human race handle all this advancement?
Steve Wozniak, the famous co-founder of Apple, in an interview with the Australian Financial Review, stated that computers would soon take over most human tasks and that the future for people isn’t going to be all too bright.
Steve Wozniak isn’t the only one subscribing to this belief. His sentiments are echoed by the likes of Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking.
On the other side of the court, we have those who support movements such as the one calling for “algorithmic regulation”. Algorithmic regulation calls for the replacement of human decision makers with machines in order to improve efficiency in the public services arena.
Whichever way you look at it, a future where machines do most of the work seems apparent.
They’re here!
Not too long ago, NBC even published an article titled “Nine Jobs that Humans May Lose to Robots”. The articles showed how robots were already replacing humans with regard to tasks such as filling prescriptions or analysing documents. To put it simply, what was once exclusively human domain is now gradually being replaced by machines.
We don’t realize it but machines are doing “human jobs” in almost every area we can think. Computerized vices are answering your calls and even carrying telephone surveys. Digital voices are being used in animated film productions and advertisements.
Fortunately, it’s not all gloom and doom.
The good news
According to Rick Robinson, IT Director for Smart Data and Technology at Amey, artificial intelligence cannot recreate what we define as free will and consciousness. He goes on to say that computers or robots will not be able to make sense of human values or make decisions based on these values.
Robinson believes that being human isn’t just about making intelligent decisions based on data. Rather, there is something known as a will and an ability to decipher objectives and set criteria in order to make those decisions and that’s something only humans are capable of.
Stating something similar is Ed Leonard, CTO at Dreamworks. According to Leonard, acting is something that requires expressions. Though human faces can be digitally cloned, it still requires human expressions to appear real.
The same thing applies to voiceovers as well. There is the human element in to our voices that machines, today, simply cannot recreate. Until machines can be programmed to do that, the voiceover artist isn’t likely to be out of a job.
ABOUT ROBERTA –
Roberta is a Professional AND award Winning International Voiceover Actor, as well as an accomplished on-camera actress and spokesperson. She lives in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area and is the owner of Roberta Kennedy Voice Talent and RK Productions, Inc.
She voices for companies around the world using her state of the art, broadcast quality studio. She’s hired for commercials, web demos and explainer videos, product infomercials, documentaries, promo/imaging, political ads, e-learning videos, podcasts, guided real estate tours, telephony/IVR projects, high profile corporate presentations, video games and character animation.
Her voice is described as: playful, contemporary, compelling, commanding, inviting, sultry and smooth. A hip edge with sophistication, bold, warm, interesting and engaging are also commonly used adjectives to describe her voice.
Her home studio is equipped with ipDTL, ISDN and phone patch capability with lightning fast turnaround times! A voiceover talent with over 20 years of voiceover acting experience, she offers a full range of voiceover services at highly competitive rates & will work with your budget to help you promote your business to new levels of excellence!
To request a personal quote or audition and/or to review more of her credits & demos, feel free to visit her website: www.robertakennedy.com – or mail her atroberta@robertakennedy.com. You can even give her a call on (408) 313-7202.
Sources:
http://www.voiceoverherald.com/will-computers-ever-replace-human-voice-actors/