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Establishment of the General Incorporated Association "Digital Voice Palette" to promote the utilization of voice synthesis technology
The text of the Dentsu Inc. news release distributed on October 31 is as follows.
October 31, 2018
Dentsu Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Toshihiro Yamamoto) and voice actor production company 81 Produce Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President: Michiyoshi Minamizawa) have jointly established the general incorporated association "Digital Voice Palette" to promote the utilization of voice synthesis technology. Operations commence on November 1.
The association aims to provide voice actors (the original voice owners) with new business options for digital voices (*1) based on human voices, which are expected to see expanded use as voice synthesis technology matures. It also seeks to protect and utilize their rights over the long term. Furthermore, it aims to leverage the power of these new digital voices to make people's daily lives more enjoyable and convenient.
Recent rapid advancements in AI and the accompanying spread of deep learning techniques have driven various technological innovations in the field of voice synthesis. While these developments create convenient and enjoyable applications for users, the urgent challenge now is how to protect and nurture the value of voices as essential, distinctive elements within content.
To address this situation, we must envision a future where the general public widely utilizes digital voices based on human speech. This requires promoting and establishing "Voice Rights" (※2) to prove individuals' rights over their own voices, building foundations to support new growth markets led by the voice IP (intellectual property) industry centered on voice actors, and advancing the development of various services that promote the use of voice synthesis technology alongside the creation of a sustainable ecosystem.
Therefore, Digital Voice Palette aims to collaborate with the voice technology industry to establish new rules and mechanisms for promoting the use of voice synthesis technology, ensure quality assurance and protection for digital voices, and simultaneously drive the creation of new experiential value (※3) that transcends the linguistic and physical limitations of voice actors, thereby contributing to the development of the content industry.
The overview and main activities of the new incorporated association are as follows.
<Digital Voice Palette Overview>
・Name: Digital Voice Palette General Incorporated Association
・URL:www.digitalvoice.or.jp
・Location: 1-3-5 Tomigaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
・Established: June 20, 2018
・Business Commencement: November 1, 2018
・Representative: Representative Director Michiyoshi Minamizawa
■Main Activities
・Establishing certification mechanisms to guarantee the quality and rights of digital voices
・Promoting the concept of "voice rights" and establishing rules to prevent misuse
・Developing multilingual digital voices that leverage Japanese vocal characteristics
・Efforts to reproduce the voices of deceased individuals during their lifetime and preserve them as digital voices
・Supporting the formulation of business rules and ecosystem development for digital voice utilization
・Exploring the potential of voice diversity, including voice support for people with disabilities
※1 Digital voice refers to "artificially created human speech" produced using speech synthesis technology. It is created by recording a person's actual voice to build a speech synthesis dictionary (library), which is then used to generate speech for tasks like text-to-speech.
※2 A new concept of rights defining the attribution of human voices to individuals and the use of those voices, based on personality rights . This concept emerged from research and discussions with domestic experts during the association's establishment. In a society where digital voices are used by others after being separated from their original vocal cords, it is necessary to clearly define and manage these rights. Therefore, Digital Voice Palette will proactively participate in creating rules going forward.
※3 Experiential value encompasses various services, including interactive games, narration functions in public infrastructure and events, guide functions accompanying content, corporate advertising and promotional activities, and the presentation of content characters.
End
Dentsu Inc. News Release
http://www.dentsu.co.jp/news/release/2018/1031-009635.html
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