Eleven Labs, a company specializing in text-to-speech technology, has partnered with the estates of deceased celebrities Judy Garland, James Dean, Burt Reynolds, and Laurence Olivier to offer their voices on their new “Reader App.” The app aims to transform written content into emotionally rich audio, catering to various formats such as articles, PDFs, e-books, and more.
While the concept may seem intriguing, the use of deceased celebrities’ voices raises ethical concerns. The ability to utilize someone’s likeness or voice without their consent, especially after their passing, has been a contentious issue. The lack of foresight from these celebrities to address such matters in their wills further complicates the situation.
Despite these concerns, the estates of the celebrities involved have chosen to proceed with the partnership. Garland’s daughter, as the representative of her mother’s estate, expressed excitement over the opportunity to introduce her mother’s voice to a wider audience and enhance her legacy.
Eleven Labs has clarified that the use of these voices is exclusively limited to their app and not part of their broader Voice Library for content creation and sharing. The company’s mission revolves around making content accessible in different languages and voices, using Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz” as an example where users could have Garland herself narrate the book.
Critics argue that existing accessibility options, such as translations and audiobooks performed by real people, already provide ample choices for users. The idea of a computer-generated Burt Reynolds reading explicit fanfiction or Laurence Olivier lending his voice to a news article is seen by some as a degradation of their legacies.