OpenAI deems its voice cloning tool too risky for general release

Delaying the Voice Engine technology rollout minimises the potential for misinformation in an important global election year

A new tool from OpenAI that can generate a convincing clone of anyone’s voice using just 15 seconds of recorded audio has been deemed too risky for general release, as the AI lab seeks to minimise the potential of damaging misinformation in a global year of elections.

Voice Engine was first developed in 2022 and an initial version was used for the text-to-speech feature built into ChatGPT, the organisation’s leading AI tool. But its power has never been revealed publicly, in part because of the “cautious and informed” approach OpenAI is taking to release it more widely.