BBC’s AI tool reads articles in a human-like voice

The tool uses a synthetic voice with a natural tone and clearly articulates speech.

November 17, 2020 06:12 pm | Updated 06:23 pm IST

BBC’s AI tool reads articles in a human-like voice.

BBC’s AI tool reads articles in a human-like voice.

(Subscribe to our Today's Cache newsletter for a quick snapshot of top 5 tech stories. Click here to subscribe for free.)

BBC on Monday launched an artificial intelligence (AI)-based text-to-speech tool on its digital platform, offering a new way for users to consume its content.

The tool was developed using deep neural networks, and in collaboration with Microsoft. It uses a synthetic voice with a natural tone and clearly articulates speech.

According to BBC, the reading tool will be initially available for 16 feature articles in a series called ‘The Life Project’ within BBC Worklife. After the series concludes, it will be made available for select articles from BBC Culture, BBC Future and BBC Worklife.

The articles powered by the text-to-speech tool will display a “listen to article” prompt, and people can click on it to access the reading control options such as play, pause, rewind, volume and scroll bar. The audio will continue to play in the background when listening to these articles on both desktop and mobile.

Also Read | This tool can help detect data vulnerabilities in AI-powered systems

The tool is designed to use its AI software to learn the patterns of users’ behaviour and prioritise content based on their preferences, BBC noted in a release.

“As the popularity of audio grows, this new product offers audiences another complementary way of engaging with our content in a format that suits them,” Errol Baran, Global SVP, Business Development & Innovation, said in a release.

According to BBC, 62% of its digital audience now spend between 30 minutes and four hours listening to podcasts each day.

Also Read | Facebook's AI model can translate 100 languages without relying on English

The launch marks the first milestone in an ambitious plan which aims to see the product rolled out to other areas of the site as part of an initiative called Project Songbird, BBC stated.

The use of a synthetic voice means the project will be suitable for a wide range of content as well as allowing the audio to change automatically as and when any text is updated, it added.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.