artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence companies are rapidly expanding voice-cloning technology while lawmakers and regulators struggle to keep pace, raising concerns about consent, fraud and the growing misuse of digitally replicated voices.

A report by journalism nonprofit Proof News found that many publicly available AI voice-cloning services require little more than a checkbox confirmation from users before allowing them to copy someone else’s voice.

The investigation examined eight AI voice-cloning platforms, including services from Eleven Labs, PlayHT, Speechify, LOVO, Veed and Descript. In most cases, users could upload short audio clips and generate realistic voice replicas without any meaningful verification that the person being cloned had actually granted permission. [Read more…] about AI companies are racing ahead of laws designed to protect people’s voices

As artificial intelligence systems continue expanding across the global economy, environmental researchers and analysts are warning that the AI boom may be creating an increasingly serious – and often overlooked – problem: water consumption.

Much of the public discussion surrounding AI infrastructure has focused on electricity demand and carbon emissions. But the giant data centers powering AI systems also require enormous quantities of water to cool servers and generate electricity.

An investigation published by Proof News argues that water usage linked to AI development is rising rapidly as major technology companies race to build larger and more powerful AI systems. [Read more…] about AI’s rapid growth is putting increasing pressure on water supplies