In this episode of RealmIQ: SESSIONS, Curt interviews Alex Serdiuk, co-founder and CEO of Respeecher, an Emmy Award-winning AI voice cloning company based in Kyiv, Ukraine. Alex shares the journey of building Respeecher, its early breakthroughs, and how the company now works with top Hollywood studios, game developers, and the music industry. He discusses how synthetic voice technology is being ethically applied to dubbing, accent correction, and resurrecting historical or deceased voices—while also confronting controversy, fear, and ethical landmines in emerging media.
The conversation dives into voice cloning used for Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian, accent correction in The Brutalist, and the resurrection of hip-hop artists' voices through Vocal Roots AI. Alex emphasizes the critical importance of ethics, permissions, and trust when using synthetic voice, and shares insights into the future of voice-first interfaces, synthetic media, and new real-time applications of Respeecher's technology.
Topics Discussed
- Origin and evolution of Respeecher
- Voice cloning breakthroughs at Grammarly Hackathon
- AI use in Hollywood films (The Mandalorian, Book of Boba Fett)
- Gaming industry’s demand for scalable voiceover solutions
- Use of AI for character voices, aging voices, and localization
- The Brutalist controversy and media misinterpretations
- Accent correction and AI’s role in post-production
- Ethics and permission-based voice synthesis
- Vocal Roots AI: Reanimating hip-hop legends with Frank Nitty
- Synthetic voice for multilingual music and interactive artist engagement
- Deepfake concerns vs. synthetic media
- Trust and transparency in AI creative collaborations
- New real-time text-to-speech capabilities
- Respeecher’s future in hospitality, holograms, and real-time AI agents
- Challenges of educating clients, investors, and creatives
- Concept of Creative-Centered AI and synthetic media as a legitimate category
Quotes
"The goal of high-quality synthetic voice technology is to be indistinguishable from real speech."
— Alex Serdiuk
"We are conservative with ethics. No one can use Respeecher without the voice owner's permission."
— Alex Serdiuk
"Trust is what makes top talent like Mark Hamill and Adrian Brody comfortable using our tech."
— Alex Serdiuk
"The technology is neutral. It's creatives who define its purpose and elevate its potential."
— Alex Serdiuk
"Creative-centered AI is what will elevate this technology—it’s not just tech, it's about imagination."
— Curt Doty
"Synthetic media is a new category that deserves distinction from deepfakes."
— Curt Doty
"We’re at the edge of a change where our devices aren’t just tools—they’re partners."
— Alex Serdiuk
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