Val Kilmer Uses Deepfake Tech to Get Voice Back After Throat Cancer Battle
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The 61-year-old 'Top Gun' actor reveals in a new video that Sonantic, a U.K.-based software firm that clones voices, helps him restore his voice as it creates an AI-version of his voice.

AceShowbiz - AI technology is indeed scary in both good and bad ways. Actor Val Kilmer, who opened up about his throat cancer battle in 2017, has gotten his voice back thanks to an AI prototype.

The 61-year-old revealed in a new video that Sonantic, a U.K.-based software firm that clones voices, helped him restore his voice as it creates an AI-version of his voice. In a video shared by Sonantic, the company showed the results of the tech.

"My voice as I knew it was taken away from me. People around me struggle to understand when I'm talking. But despite all that I still feel I'm the exact same person," Kilmer said in the clip using the AI voice.

The "Top Gun: Maverick" actor went on to say, "Still the same creative soul. A soul that dreams ideas and stories confidently, but now I can express myself again, bring these ideas to you, and show you this part of myself once more. A part that was never truly gone. Just hiding away."

As for Sonantic, it explained in its web, "Our first hurdle with creating the voice model for Val was that his team provided a relatively small amount of recorded material, which we knew would make it more difficult to produce the model. We first cleaned the audio, carefully removing background noise without destroying the speech content. Next, we generated transcripts from the audio and paired the audio and text together in short chunks. The Voice Engine then began training the model with the resulting data--about 10 times less data than we might have used in a typical project."

It was said that Kilmer worked closely with Sonantic while creating the model by providing archival footage. In a statement to The Wrap, the "Batman Forever" star said, "I'm grateful to the entire team at Sonantic who masterfully restored my voice in a way I've never imagined possible."

He continued, "As human beings, the ability to communicate is the core of our existence and the side effects from throat cancer have made it difficult for others to understand me. The chance to narrate my story, in a voice that feels authentic and familiar, is an incredibly special gift."

This arrives shortly after the release of his documentary, "Val". In the movie, which was co-produced by his daughter and son, fans are offered with the actor's life, career and recovery from throat cancer.

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