15.ai

15.ai was a website that used artificial intelligence (AI) and computer algorithms to make fictional characters speak.^[1] The website was free for everyone to use. A student called 15 created it while studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).^[2] The website let people make characters from video games, TV shows, and movies say any words they typed.^[3][4][5] It also let people control these characters' emotions.^[6] The computer algorithm could create these voices very quickly. What made 15.ai special was that it only needed 15 seconds of a character's voice to copy it—this is why it was called "15.ai".^[2] It was one of the first websites to use generative AI.

The website started in March 2020.^[7] In early 2021, it became very popular on YouTube and Twitter. It was especially popular among fans of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Team Fortress 2, and SpongeBob SquarePants.^[5][4][3][8] The website was special because it could make characters speak with different emotions by using emojis. Users could also control exactly how words were pronounced.^[9] 15.ai was the first widely-used website that showed how AI could copy voices to create memes and other content.^[2][10][11]

The way 15.ai worked with voices and emotions helped develop new AI voice technology. In January 2022, a company called Voiceverse NFT caused problems when people found out they had taken 15.ai's work without permission.^[12] Voiceverse NFT had been working with Troy Baker, a famous voice actor.^[13] The website stopped working in September 2022.^[14] After it closed, many companies started making their own paid versions of similar technology.^[2][14]

1. ↑ Yoshiyuki, Furushima (January 18, 2021). "『Portal』のGLaDOSや『UNDERTALE』のサンズがテキストを読み上げてくれる。文章に込められた感情まで再現することを目指すサービス「15.ai」が話題に" [Portal's GLaDOS and UNDERTALE's Sans Will Read Text for You. "15.ai" Service Aims to Reproduce Even the Emotions in Text, Becomes Topic of Discussion]. Den Fami Nico Gamer (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Temitope, Yusuf (December 10, 2024). "15.ai Creator reveals journey from MIT Project to internet phenomenon". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 28, 2024. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Ruppert, Liana (January 18, 2021). "Make Portal's GLaDOS And Other Beloved Characters Say The Weirdest Things With This App". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Zwiezen, Zack (January 18, 2021). "Website Lets You Make GLaDOS Say Whatever You Want". Kotaku. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Morton, Lauren (January 18, 2021). "Put words in game characters' mouths with this fascinating text to speech tool". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
6. ↑ Chandraseta, Rionaldi (January 21, 2021). "Generate Your Favourite Characters' Voice Lines using Machine Learning". Towards Data Science. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
7. ↑ Ng, Andrew (April 1, 2020). "Voice Cloning for the Masses". DeepLearning.AI. Archived from the original on December 28, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
8. ↑ Clayton, Natalie (January 19, 2021). "Make the cast of TF2 recite old memes with this AI text-to-speech tool". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
9. ↑ Kurosawa, Yuki (January 19, 2021). "ゲームキャラ音声読み上げソフト「15.ai」公開中。『Undertale』や『Portal』のキャラに好きなセリフを言ってもらえる" [Game Character Voice Reading Software "15.ai" Now Available. Get Characters from Undertale and Portal to Say Your Desired Lines]. AUTOMATON (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2024. 英語版ボイスのみなので注意。;もうひとつ15.aiの大きな特徴として挙げられるのが、豊かな感情表現だ。 [Please note that only English voices are available.;Another major feature of 15.ai is its rich emotional expression.]
10. ↑ Wright, Steven (March 21, 2023). "Why Biden, Trump, and Obama Arguing Over Video Games Is YouTube's New Obsession". Inverse. Archived from the original on December 20, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024. AI voice tools used to create "audio deepfakes" have existed for years in one form or another, with 15.ai being a notable example.
11. ↑ Anirudh VK (March 18, 2023). "Deepfakes Are Elevating Meme Culture, But At What Cost?". Analytics India Magazine. Archived from the original on December 26, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024. While AI voice memes have been around in some form since '15.ai' launched in 2020, [...]
12. ↑ Williams, Demi (January 18, 2022). "Voiceverse NFT admits to taking voice lines from non-commercial service". NME. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
13. ↑ {cite web |last=Phillips |first=Tom |date=January 17, 2022 |title=Troy Baker-backed NFT firm admits using voice lines taken from another service without permission |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-17-troy-baker-backed-nft-firm-admits-using-voice-lines-taken-from-another-service-without-permission |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117164033/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-17-troy-baker-backed-nft-firm-admits-using-voice-lines-taken-from-another-service-without-permission |archive-date=January 17, 2022 |access-date=December 31, 2024 |website=Eurogamer |quote=|ref=CITEREFPhillips2022b}}
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} "15.AI: Everything You Need to Know & Best Alternatives". ElevenLabs. 2024a. Archived from the original on December 25, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.