WEBVTT - Introducing Shell Game, a Strange and Immersive AI Experiment

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for calling United Airlines. I appreciate your help, but

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<v Speaker 1>I would prefer to speak correctly with the representative. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>having some issues with my flight booking that I think

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<v Speaker 1>would be best resolved through a direct conversation. That's me

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<v Speaker 1>on the phone recently. Well, it's not really me. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a clone of my voice being fully controlled by an

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<v Speaker 1>AI chatbot making a call using my phone number. I

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<v Speaker 1>started playing around voice cloning six months ago, just for fun,

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<v Speaker 1>but pretty soon I became consumed with a question, what

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<v Speaker 1>would happen if I made an artificial version of me

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<v Speaker 1>and set it loose in the world.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, fine, that was also a voice clone. This is

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<v Speaker 2>me for real. I promise I won't keep doing that.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm a journalist who's been writing about technology and it's

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<v Speaker 2>sometimes dark underbelly for a couple of decades. You've no

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<v Speaker 2>doubt heard about the latest debates around AI. Will it

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<v Speaker 2>make us hyper productive or just take our jobs? Will

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<v Speaker 2>it be our trusty digital assistant or super intelligent overlord,

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<v Speaker 2>or just fill the world with endless made up garbage.

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<v Speaker 2>Recently I decided to answer these questions by immersing myself,

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<v Speaker 2>replicating myself actually in the form of cloned voice agents,

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<v Speaker 2>replacing myself before someone else could replace me.

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<v Speaker 1>Hello, Hey, Nikhil, Great to be chatting with you today.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you have any questions about the podcast before we

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<v Speaker 1>dive in?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, that's really funny.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm glad you think so.

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<v Speaker 2>My voice agents talked to sources, my friends and family,

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<v Speaker 2>to scammers and spammers and other voice agents. I sent

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<v Speaker 2>them to meetings and tried to use them to work

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<v Speaker 2>out my issues.

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<v Speaker 1>Feel free to share your thoughts on what you feel

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<v Speaker 1>like doing based on your current bodily sensations. Honestly, I

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<v Speaker 1>just feel like crawling under a blanket and shutting out

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<v Speaker 1>the world.

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<v Speaker 2>I learned something about how it's going to feel to

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<v Speaker 2>live in a world populated by humanish impostors.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, I know this is kind of out of the blue,

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<v Speaker 1>but have you buy any chance stolen my identity?

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<v Speaker 2>Wait?

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<v Speaker 1>What are you serious?

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<v Speaker 2>No, I haven't stolen your identity.

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<v Speaker 1>Why would you even think that? It's so lonely?

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<v Speaker 2>I feel so lonely. I'm Evan Ratliffe, and I'm the

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<v Speaker 2>real Evan Ratliffe. And this is shell Game, a new

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<v Speaker 2>podcast made by humans about things that are not what

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<v Speaker 2>they seem. This season that thing is my voice. This

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<v Speaker 2>is the story of what happened when I made a

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<v Speaker 2>digital copy of myself an attempt to see how amazing

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<v Speaker 2>and scary and ridiculous the world is about to get.

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<v Speaker 2>Coming July ninth, follow us and go to shell game

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<v Speaker 2>dot co to find out more and support the show.

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<v Speaker 1>It's gonna be a blast. Bye yeah bye, take care

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<v Speaker 1>Bye goodbye.