Melania Trump, the first lady, is obtaining some assistance with the launch of her memoir in audiobook form: artificial intelligence. Trump posted a futuristic video on X with the words, "I am grateful to bring you Melania—The AI Audiobook—narrated entirely utilizing artificial intelligence in my voice. "Let releasing's future start."
The book " Melania " is available for purchase on the first lady's personal website for $25. It takes seven hours to discover. According to ElevenLabs, it is currently accessible in Portuguese, Hindi, and Spanish, with "other languages coming soon."
Melania Launch
The first lady's memoir was posted throughout the presidential election in October 2024. The book discusses everything from Melania Trump's life in Yugoslavia during the Cold War to her marriage to President Donald Trump.
Because Melania presented a woman's right to choose in the book, it obtained essential media attention in the days before its publication.
She stated, "It is essential to ensure that women have the freedom to select whether or not to have children, depending on their own beliefs, without any interference or pressure from the government."
The Book Comes As Trump Warns About AI
The bipartisan Take it Down Act, which President Donald Trump inked into law earlier this week, forbids and punishes the launch of "deepfakes," or nonconsensual authentic and computer-created images that are generally utilized as revenge pornography.
Speaking at the signing, the First Lady discussed the possible risks linked to artificial intelligence. "Social media and artificial intelligence are the digital candy of the future—addictive, sweet, and intended to influence our kids' connectivity development," she stated.
"However, unlike sugar, these new technologies can be utilized as weapons to influence opinions, impact feelings, tragically, and even be lethal." The publication of Melania Trump's AI-narrated audiobook coincides with a heated discussion regarding utilizing technology for narration.
AI Narration Faces Argument
Audible, designed by Amazon, indicated earlier this month that it would utilize AI technology to narrate audiobooks through "select partnerships." In a press release, Audible claimed, "We are utilizing our own fully integrated, end-to-end AI development technology to bring new audiobooks to life."
According to the company, the alteration assists publishers because it makes it easier to provide audiobooks in several languages, including Spanish, English, French, and Italian. However, some voice translators, actors, and writers criticized this change. "Chocolat" author Joanne Harris reportedly claimed to the Guardian that Audible's action was "shortsighted."
"I can't think of anything that will put people off listening to audiobooks entirely in an era of declining literacy," Harris claimed. "This shortsighted scheme decreases what we love about storytelling to the easy delivery of code."
Human audiobook narrators include Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, who "actively sell audio content by being best at their jobs," based on another critic who spoke to the Guardian.
"The wryness of excellent comedy timing, the crack in the voice at a time of unexplained emotion, or the disbelief a listener feels when one person can be a whole cast of characters are all examples of the art – and it is an art – of an excellent audiobook," Kristin Atherton stated to the outlet.