Many discussions around the legality and technical hurdles of free use come into play when we ask if AI voice cloning really can be used with abandon. The technology to produce voice Cloning has also made strides; Google (GOOGL) and startups like Dessa are now offering tools that can mimic a human voice in minutes, but the process of using these tools is not so simple.
As of legalities, voice cloning usually runs into problems with intellectual property and privacy. In 2020, in a case concerning the estate of Robin Williams, concerns regarding voice ownership were stirred when his voice was posthumously used without permission. It depends on the copyright laws of your territory, but in most regions copying someones voice even via AI can be considered illegal.
Technically free AI voice cloning software could come with some limited capabilities than paid versions. With Mozilla TTS, you can provide a voice cloning feature that — depending on the quality and level of customization required from your perspective in comparison to paid solutions such as those provided by large tech companies— is an extremely adequate solution. In addition, data can fall short of what is desired. While free tools sometimes restrict the number of voices you can clone, or how much voice you can sample (typically limiting usage to 60 seconds () — more on this issue later).
Another key consideration is efficiency. Free versions of the software may take more processing time and also do not offer real-time voice cloning like many professional-quality products. DupDub, an ai voice clone free solution we will discuss soon enough in this article provides a quick fix by having instant vioce cloning services for you but even they have some limits on the number of clones and what all type voices can be used as non-paying user.
The ethics of voice cloning are also pretty up for debate as well. Cheap cloning of a public figure can then be misused in an area like Fake News, or fraud where you are impersonating popular figures to con people. For that reason, valid even for the free AI voice cloning software as well.