Giving AIs "lifelike" voices shows a desperate lack of imagination. I want a studiously inhuman chip voice. I want a voice like wind. I want words made of birdsong, that trick my auditory cortex and read as human speech. Anything but quotidian human speech.
Crazy story of the week:
The tragic incident surrounding the Netflix adaptation of the "Three Body Problem" series is not widely known among its fans. Lin Qi, a visionary and brilliant young billionaire, acquired the rights to the "Three Body Problem" with the ambition of creating various products from it. He enlisted the expertise of Xu Yao, a distinguished lawyer, appointing him CEO to spearhead the business operations, including securing a deal with Netflix—a feat for which Lin compensated Xu with a salary of nearly $3 million. However, Xu's performance did not meet expectations beyond the Netflix agreement, leading Lin to reduce his salary to $750,000 and bring in additional executives to enhance business operations. Xu, retaining his CEO title, was reportedly infuriated by this demotion and further aggravated by not being credited as a producer on the Netflix project.
Driven by revenge and inspired by the TV show "Breaking Bad," Xu meticulously planned Lin's murder. He purchased 160 phones and established a company in Japan to acquire the necessary chemicals for his scheme, testing them on animals. Xu then poisoned Lin and his colleagues, disguising the lethal substances as an advanced probiotic. Lin unsuspectingly consumed it and soon after was hospitalized, where it was immediately apparent he had been poisoned, though the specific toxins were unknown. The police quickly suspected Xu, who, had he disclosed the nature of the poisons (later found to have included exotic substances such as pufferfish poison and mercury and at least three other poisons), could have saved Lin's life. However, he chose not to, ensuring Lin's demise. Just a few days ago, as the show was premiering globally, Xu was finally sentenced to death for the murder of Lin and attempted murder of two other colleagues, who survived but with lifelong injuries.
Lin Qi, credited as an executive producer on the Netflix project posthumously, passed away at the age of 39. RIP 🕯️
After working with many founders during a PR crisis, here the advice you get for each price level. Hopefully it will save you some money.
1. In-house Comms
• Cost: $0
• Advice: Put out an apology and announce changes, which will subsequently get picked apart by every critic.
• Cycle Length: 2 years or more
2. Mid-tier Comms Agency
• Cost: $10,000 retainer
• Advice: Go silent, don’t say anything.
• Cycle Length: Goes away in 2 weeks
3. S-tier ex-Whitehouse Crisis Firm
• Cost: $50,000 retainer
• Advice: Just post through it like nothing happened.
• Cycle Length: Goes away in 48 hours