AI Michael Caine narrates Odyssey audiobook

Christopher Nolan’s new film version of The Odyssey is due in cinemas next month, and an audiobook adaptation of Homer’s epic has arrived ahead of it featuring an AI replica of Michael Caine’s voice. Caine, who has appeared in eight Nolan films and announced his retirement last December, licensed an AI version of his voice in a deal struck shortly before that announcement.

The 13-hour audiobook is ElevenLabs’ inaugural in-house production and is presented as a cinematic multicast combining Sir Michael Caine’s official AI voice replica with a full cast, original music and immersive sound design. ElevenLabs used William Cullen Bryant’s 19th-century translation and said no academics were involved; getting character pronunciations right was described as a painstaking process.

Caine’s role was mainly consultancy last year, helping to perfect iterations of his AI voice.

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