Listen to Shell Game, Episode 4

Shell Game

Episode 4: Take a Deep Breath

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Episode 4: Take a Deep Breath

Evan looks into the depths of his AI-powered voice agent by sending it on a new mission: going to therapy.

Evan Ratliff

Jul 30, 2024

Transcript

The latest Shell Game is live, wherever you get your podcasts. It’s Episode 4, and it’s about my effort to take my AI voice agents to a deeper place, with the help of professionals.

This one I’m not going to spoil too much by describing in detail. I will say that it’s the most difficult for me to listen to, and not because of the sound of my voice. We traveled far beyond the bounds of where I ever thought I’d go with this story, back when I started messing around with AI voice cloning. It’s probably the most personal I’ve ever gotten in my work, in any medium.

Or at least… it’s the most personal someone else has ever gotten about me, in any medium. And that someone else is my voice agent. I hope you can untangle it, because I’m still working on it. But mostly, I hope you enjoy it.

Now let the balloon go,

Evan

Discussion about this podcast

Shell Game

A podcast about things that are not what they seem, hosted by journalist Evan Ratliff. In Season One, that thing is Evan’s voice. By creating a voice clone and hooking it up to an AI chatbot, Evan set out to discover what happens when you try to take control of the very technology that threatens to replace you.

Shell Game was named one of the the best podcasts of 2024 by New York Magazine, a top 10 podcast of 2024 by The Economist, one of the five most insightful podcasts of the summer by The Week, and one of the five best tech and business podcasts of the year by The Information. It's "riveting," says The New Yorker, "awesome" says The Verge, and "slightly terrifying," says The Globe and Mail.

Over the course of six episodes, Evan’s voice agents talk to spammers and scammers, to Evan’s friends and family, to colleagues and sources, to other AIs, and even to a therapist—all to better understand what AI voice is able to do, what it can't yet do, and what to expect from a future in which more and more of the people we encounter in the world aren’t real.

Visit shellgame.co to find out more and support the show.

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