Matthew McConaughey's weekly audio newsletter took an unexpected left turn after: report Detailing how the actor's “Lyrics of Livin'” premiere is narrated in Spanish via an AI-puppeted clone of his voice, Mattbot3000, he also revealed that he worked with ElevenLabs to digitally reconstruct his tone.
The story explains that his original English recordings are converted to Spanish and yet they still sound like old Roy thanks to fancy new speech synthesis technology.
It opens the door to what feels like a new dimension for storytellers everywhere.
It's striking how E. feels like McConaughey; to the technology that powers this wave.
This is further described in announcement which details his involvement as an early supporter and investor who helped shape ElevenLabs' international voice ambitions.”
This sounds like someone who is not just experimenting with AI on the side, but is actively helping to steer the direction of the tools he uses.
The rest of Hollywood is heading in the same direction and you can feel it press reports how Michael Caine recently agreed to license a digital copy of his voice for use in the company's growing AI voice market.
This signals something much bigger: iconic voices are becoming digital assets that can play, narrate and talk even after the studio lights are turned off.
However, this step forward brings with it a shadow. These concerns have intensified in the months since an investigation revealed the ease with which AI-generated sound could be misused. The report also shed light on political robocalls created using cloned voices.
This case has forced companies like ElevenLabs to strengthen their security – a reminder that as creative power increases, so do the threats.
When I think about all this, I can't help but feel excited and a little anxious.
On the one hand, it's exciting to imagine creators in Manila or Madrid releasing multilingual films without having to learn five new languages.
On the other hand, there's the nagging question: when your voice transforms into data, how do you latch onto its tail and know where it's going and what it's saying?
At this point, McConaughey seems to have come to terms with the balance he's struck.
It still records the English version itself, keeping the human heartbeat intact, while artificial intelligence ensures global coverage.
Perhaps this is what the future looks like: the collaboration of the human voice and digital echo, doing what they do best.
