It seems that every week or month, there is a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature being introduced that has the potential to take over jobs that were previously done by humans. The latest job at risk is that of audiobook narrators, as Apple Books has introduced a new feature called “digital narration” to narrate audiobooks. This development may cause concern for those who make a living by narrating audiobooks, as they may fear that their job will be taken over by machines. While this simple feature may not be as advanced as engines like “ChatGPT” or “Midjourney,” the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to narrate audiobooks is a trend that indicates a shift in the way that certain tasks will be performed in the future. This continuing trend is something many people may not be aware of or prepared for, and it is important to consider the potential economic implications of such a shift.
The new service, which is now available in the Apple Books Store, includes a collection of AI-narrated books that are identified by a “Narrated by Apple Books” subtitle. These audiobooks are currently only available in certain genres, each with its own designated AI voice. Fiction and romance are narrated by “Madison” and “Jackson,” while non-fiction and self-development books are narrated by “Helena” and “Mitchell.” The transformation of a written book into an AI-narrated audiobook can take around a month and is done on a voluntary basis. Authors must own the rights to produce an audiobook version and, at present, the source book must be written in English. If an Apple Books AI narrated version is created, authors are allowed to produce a human-narrated version later and can generate other audiobook versions with other distributors.
The introduction of digital narration has the potential to disrupt the traditional audiobook industry, which relies on human narrators. The use of AI significantly reduces costs for book publishers, who usually invest a significant amount of money in producing audiobooks. However, some publishing companies have criticized the move, arguing that listeners prefer an authentic human voice that can provide inflections and tones that AI software cannot replicate.
