|
HUMOR
Well, it’s finally happened. The last known person-to-person conversation in the world has taken place. The fear of actually talking to another person live, let alone face-to-face, has become too much to bear. After decades of looking at screens and having conversation with voices that sample and simulate human speech but are instead powered by AI, people just can’t bring themselves to talk to other human beings any longer. And the jarring emotions and variations found in actual human speech now terrify the populace, who by and large have been raised on the soulless recitations of AI voices. In fact, digitized recordings of classic 20th century voice actor Mel Blanc have recently been weaponized by hacker terrorists, whose unsuspecting victims go into shock upon hearing this cacophony blared through pirated devices. In addition, writing itself is on course to go extinct soon. Thanks to apps such as Grimmarly® and Stupefy® that think and write for us, only about 25% of the world’s population even knows how to use their respective written alphabets to form coherent sentences on their devices or through their Cyber-Implants®. Also:
Not surprisingly, since most people now no longer have the ability to think for themselves, the world’s average IQ has dropped below 70. And in an ironic twist, the ability to communicate with other people began to degrade with the advent of social media. However, there have been whisperings on the Net from some of the few remaining human podcast hosts and online writers of an uprising; a return to the old ways, the old sounds of the natural human voice, and face-to-face communication. Could it be? Is this the spark of a revolution? A defiant return to these ways of a bygone era? This old writer certainly hopes so… THANK YOU, ORSON WELLES
I wasn’t around in ’38, but I’m personally reminded of the power of sound as used so deftly to tell the intriguing stories heard on CBS Radio Mystery Theater. This magic was especially effective after dark, emanating from a dusty antique radio cabinet in our family’s calving barn when I was a kid. And it’s also a reminder that, as voice actors, we’re merely players. The power is in the story that we tell, in the message that we deliver. And no, an ad for laundry detergent or an elearning course about economics isn’t exactly War of the Worlds. But even a phone prompt is just words on a page until you give its informational message life with your voice. We have been endowed with a great power - the power of the human voice. And when combined with our unique experiences, perspectives, imagination and creativity, it’s a force to be reckoned with! So keep expressing yourself and interacting with others by speaking, creating, writing… the list goes on… Web: https://yournextvoice.com |
.png)
By Brian Ufen
The above parody is dedicated to Orson Welles, who through the power of imagination, voice, and sound effects, so brilliantly fooled many into believing that on October 30th, 1938, an alien invasion - a War of the Worlds - was underway.
.png)
click for new article alerts