There's AI in audiobooks, too, and that's not entirely a bad thing. However, this is a cause for concern in the field of audio titles and the people who create audio titles today. Audible makes it easy for authors to generate their AI-narrated audiobooks, but as with many cases of AI in established industries, there are concerns that creative talent will be milked by robots. There is a concern.
That concern is valid. After all, shouldn't robots help us do more art instead of doing it for us? Isn't it the other way around?
On the other hand, it's clear that not every book written can afford a narrator, editor, and team for audio publishing. I think the more commercially viable titles will continue to work with the best narrators. After all, they can afford it. However, middle-class narrators and authors may find that AI audiobook creation is so cheap that it doesn't make economic sense to pay a human to produce it.
In a sense, it's up to the consumer to decide. If we avoid titles read by AI, the market will adapt. But will it? We'll have to wait and see.
That's the demand side of the equation. The supply side is already sorted out. Currently, Audible has tens of thousands of titles read by AI. Let's see what happens. Press the play button.