What Next TBD: When A.I. Steals Your Voice

Slate Technology

Slate

Society & Culture, Technology, History

4.6 • 636 Ratings

🗓️ 19 March 2023

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Using just what you’ve posted to social media, generative A.I. can create a “puppet version” of your voice—one that’s close enough to scam your family into paying thousands in, say, bail money. And imitating public officials to create “deep fakes” who say whatever they’re told is even easier. Guest: Pranshu Verma, tech reporter for the Washington Post. Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Forgot your wallet? No problem.
0:03.0	With Samsung Wallet, everything you need is already on your phone.
0:08.0	Store your loyalty cards, earn rewards when you spend, and keep your travels smooth with boarding passes and train tickets ready to go.
0:15.0	You can even tap in on public transport, no unlocking, no digging around.
0:20.0	And yes, your payment cards can live here too.
0:23.1	Safely stored and ready when you need them. Travel Light, live smart. Set up Samsung Wallet today.
0:33.7	I wonder if you could tell me the story of Benjamin Perkin.
0:38.6	So Benjamin Perkin is a 39-year-old executive in Canada.
0:47.8	That's reporter Pranchu Verba, who covers tech and innovation for the Washington Post.
0:52.9	And this story the Pranchu's telling starts early one morning in January.
0:57.9	Ben Perkins' parents get a call on their landline around 7 a.m. in the morning.
1:03.6	And the call is pretty serious.
1:07.0	It's a lawyer, allegedly, saying that their son, Ben, has killed a U.S. diplomat in a car accident
1:14.6	and that Perkin is in jail and he needs money for legal fees.
1:20.1	The lawyer then goes and puts Ben Perkin, the son, on the phone.
1:26.0	And Ben says, hey, mom and dad, I love you. I appreciate you.
1:31.2	I need this money. And a few hours later, another call comes back. And this time it's the lawyer.
1:39.6	And he says, we need $21,000 Canadian dollars.
1:45.2	And we need it today.
1:48.6	Because Ben needs this money to get out of jail.
1:50.9	And they put Ben on the phone again.
1:57.1	And Ben, in a distressed state, assures their parents that, yes, I need the money.
	...

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