Deepak Chopra Pacts With AI Firm ElevenLabs for Audio Streaming

Deepak Chopra, the world renowned author and health and wellness expert, has teamed with AI firm ElevenLabs to add his pipes to the company’s roster of notable voices available for audio streaming of books, articles and other written materials.

Chopra’s voice pact with ElevenLabs stemmed from the “Digital Deepak” chatbot app that he launched with the company in June. The bot is trained in Chopak’s more than 90 books and numerous public appearances in order to allow people to ask him specific questions and get responses delivered back in Chopra’s synthetic voice.

London-based ElevenLabs has been getting attention in the entertainment industry for its work to partner with the estates of celebrities such as Judy Garland, Laurence Olivier, James Dean and Burt Reynolds to allow users to stream books, articles and other texts as read in the voices of iconic stars. ElevenLabs’ deal with Chopra comes the same day that the industry-leading, Microsoft-backed OpenAI platform rolled out a host of new voices and features to its Advanced Voice Mode service.

Chopra’s latest pact with Eleven Labs adds his distinctive voice to the roster that users can choose from when streaming audio spoken-word content. Eleven Labs has made a major effort to underscore that it has worked with estates to reach license agreements offering appropriate compensation. The company also emphasizes that its vault of celebrity voices is only available for audio streaming of written material. Eleven Labs users are not able to use those voices to create new works.

“I am proud to announce my partnership with ElevenLabs. Listening can help cultivate emotional
nurturing and engagement. This is no different in the age of AI, it is only more important,” Chopra said.
“I have always written to connect with people, and now I can connect on a deeper level with a global audience as I make my teachings available for everyone in my own voice.”

Eleven Labs’ outreach to the industry is an counteract the pervasive fear in Hollywood, particularly in the creative community, that AI tools will eventually pinch employment for actors, writers, directors, producers and below the line talent.

“At ElevenLabs, we’re committed to preserving and celebrating cultural legacies while pushing the boundaries of technology,” said Dustin Blank, head of partnerships for ElevenLabs. “By bringing voices like Deepak Chopra to our platform, we’re not just enhancing our app – we’re creating new ways for people to connect with the most influential figures and their work.”

Mayim Bialik, actor and neuroscientist who is friendly with Chopra and closely following the growth of AI in content, added her thumbs-up for the ElevenLabs model. Actors in particular are focused in establishing the principle of compensation and consent when AI tools are employed to create new works from older material. AI concerns were at the heart of SAG-AFTRA’s long strike last year and they are the key sticking point in the union’s current strike against top video game publishers.

“Deepak has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to the mind-body connection and the significance of understanding ourselves, so it’s no surprise to see him finding creative ways to leverage the latest and best in AI technology with ElevenLabs in a safe and responsible way,” Bialik said. “Being able to access his content in his calm and soothing voice is a big win for his fans around
the world.”

ElevenLabs’ latest deal also comes on the heels of AI legislation being signed in to law by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. With SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher at his side, Newsom on Sept. 17 signed two bills, championed by the union, that mandates that AI and tech firms receive the consent of performers if their likeness is to be used in AI-generated new material.

ElevenLabs sees the California legislation as a step in the right direction to establishing guardrails around a powerful new high-tech tool that has enormous potential to revolutionize productivity and the way we live and learn, but it also comes with enormous repercussions for copyright violations and misinformation concerns. Blank told Variety he sees such legislation at the state and federal level as essential to nurturing AI business opportunities in the long run.

“We welcome — and we believe the whole industry should welcome – government efforts to hold accountable bad actors who create digital replicas of someone without their consent,” Blank told Variety. “Recognizing that there should be accountability for abuse of technology is an important part of making technology safer while still allowing progress to thrive.”