In our last blog, we discussed a few reasons why AI will never replace the human voice. We spoke passionately about how the voiceover business is people-centered. We shared our beliefs that everything that’s great about this business is because of human talent, craft, and personality. In this new blog, we’d like to take it a step further. We’d like to explore voiceover translation services and why AI can’t touch it with a ten foot pole. Yes, you heard that right. Here are a few reasons why we believe AI will never replace human voiceover translation.
1) Regional Dialect Reigns Supreme
Sure, AI can translate simple sentences and phrases fed to it by a Chat GPT generator, but when it comes to regional dialects in voiceover translation AI can’t even come close. The diversity and charm of regional dialects are some of the many wonders of the human voice, and this should be celebrated. Let’s look at a case study of the United States: in the Southeast alone there are at least a handful of dialects within each state. If you multiply that handful by 50 states…well, that’s a wide wide range and almost impossible for any AI to duplicate. And remember, that’s only the US we’re looking at! The world we live in is full of wonderful, interesting, and rare dialects that only real human voices can produce. As hard as it tries, AI will never be able to fully capture the magic that is the human voice when it comes to getting a regional dialect specific and convincing.
2) Colloquialisms and Idioms are Too Human To Lose
Voiceover translation would be nothing without regional dialects, yes, but another important facet of voice translation that comes from regionality and living an authentic human life is the ability to implement colloquialisms that feel natural and appropriate. These phrases and interpretations are inherently human. These phrases are the real genius of voice actors who do translations. They can see something written in a script, but ultimately know that another phrase might be more appropriate or correct for their intended audience because they know and have spoken the language throughout their entire life. AI could never pick up these distinctions and think on its feet like humans can. Colloquial language is a huge asset when it comes to human voiceover vs. AI takeover.
3) Representation Matters
This one is important to us, because we really love humans and we believe that every human voice has a right to be heard and appreciated. So, to us, the number one reason why we believe that AI can never replace human voiceover translation is that representation of those voices in the world truly matters–and once we take that away, we’ve taken away everything good and human. Let us paint you a scenario: you move to a foreign country where you don’t speak much of the dominant language. You get hurt and have to call the pharmacy to see if they have what you need before you make the long trek down to retrieve your medication. On that call you suddenly hear your native language spoken as an optional translation. It’s a huge moment! Aha! A real human voice on the other end of the line in a language you know, love, and were hoping to hear. It’s a moment that brings tears to many reaching out in hopes they can better understand business to client communications; and it’s all made possible by the talented voiceover translation artists that we work with every day. AI could never reach someone’s heart the way a human voice can.
If you’d like to learn more about voiceover translation or the many ways Worldly Voices helps implement this in the world, please contact us! We’d love to speak with you about why real voice actors are such an important part of the world we live in today, and how our talented team can help you and your voicever needs.
