You might notice new images for some of our voices the next time you log into Studio. Rest assured, their names haven't changed, and you'll still be able to find and use their amazing voices!
Why We Updated Our Initial 14 Voice Images
As we've grown as a company, we faced a practical challenge that led us to reevaluate our initial choices. The ever-changing nature of AI influences how we perceive the relationship between the visual and the audio.
Initial Voice Selection Process
In the early days, our goal was to create approachable and natural voices while preserving the anonymity of the voice actors who provided the data for the voices. To achieve this, we asked our internal team members, unaware of the voice actors' identities, to listen to original recordings of our synthetic voices. Based on the personalities they perceived, team members selected corresponding stock images, thus creating our 14 original voices.
Current Voice Selection Process
Since 2021, we have asked all new actors who record with us to choose a stock image and name for the voice built with their recordings. We recently extended this practice to our 14 original voice actors to align our practices, empowering them to select images that closely align with their identities. We believe this approach better reflects our commitment to holding ourselves accountable for the biases in our processes and to actively minimize potential harm.
Our Commitment to Our Community
At WellSaid, we hold ourselves accountable for the impact of our technology. We understand the importance of avoiding harmful practices and promoting representation in the voiceover industry. While our synthetic voices are not living beings, and do not have a race or a gender, these voices are built using data from human voice actors who do have racial and gender identities. Voice talent of color have experienced and continue to experience underrepresentation and misrepresentation in the voiceover industry in the US and beyond. We are committed to avoiding these harmful practices in our work with voice actors.
We hope these updates offer greater insight into our approach and values. As always, we appreciate your continued support and look forward to providing you with the best experience possible.
If you have any questions, please reach out to support@wellsaidlabs.com.