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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Technology
Lois Beckett in Los Angeles

Why AI audiobook narrators could win over some authors and readers, despite the vocal bumps

Headphones on a phone showing an Apple Music icon
Apple and Google are seeking to automate the creation of audiobooks using AI narrators at a huge scale. Photograph: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

For the first few seconds, the narrator of Kristen Ethridge’s new romance audiobook, Shelter from the Storm, sounds like a human being. The voice is light and carefully enunciated, with the slow pacing of any audiobook narrator, as it begins: “There’s a storm coming, and her name is Hope.”

Then, something about the pacing of the words grates on the ear. It’s a little too regular, even robotic. “I know that sounds a little crazy,” the breathy voice continues, grinding out the words. “That something so destructive could be labeled with such a peaceful name.”

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