💥 Axios PM: AI for your voice

🐝 Plus: Bee boom | Friday, March 29, 2024

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Amazon   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Mar 29, 2024 Hello, Friday! Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker, is 451 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing.     1 big thing: OpenAI tool re-creates human voice Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   OpenAI has allowed a small number of businesses to test a new tool that can re-create a person's voice from just a 15-second recording. The company said it is taking "a cautious and informed approach" to releasing the program, called Voice Engine, more broadly — given the high risk of abuse presented by synthetic voice generators. 🗣️ How it works: Based on the 15-second recording, the program can create an "emotive and realistic" natural-sounding voice that closely resembles the original speaker. In one example offered by the company, an English speaker's voice was translated into Spanish, Mandarin, German, French and Japanese while preserving the speaker's native accent. Voice Engine has been used to provide reading assistance to nonreaders, to translate content, and to help people who are nonverbal, OpenAI said. Go deeper.     2. 🐝 Bees bounce back Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios   America's honeybee population looks like it has hit an all-time high. Recent Agriculture Department data suggests that domesticated honey bee colonies are making a comeback, The Washington Post reports. Why it matters: Hive losses in the early 2000s ignited fears of "colony collapse." The domesticated western honey bee, an integral part of the world's food system, looked like it might be headed for widespread population collapse, Axios' Jacob Knutson writes. 📈 By the numbers: A 2022 census by the USDA suggests more than 1 million honey bee colonies have popped up around the U.S. since 2007, making them the fastest-growing type of livestock in the country, according to the Post. In Texas alone, beekeeping operations have grown from 1,284 in 2007 to 8,939 in 2022. 🍯 Reality check: Inflation might be making bee populations look artificially high. The census measures operations that produce at least $1,000 of products per year. So high honey prices could nudge some hobbyists into the count. Recent research suggests that despite recent increases in the honey bee population, honey yields in the U.S. have been decreasing since the 1990s because of changing climates and decreased soil productivity. Share this story.     A message from Amazon "Amazon was a major turning point in our growth"     When Lisa and Kammy started 3 Moms Organics in their hometown of East Hampton, New York they turned to Amazon to help them grow. Here's why: "Amazon's tools helped our small business tell our brand story and attract new customers." Learn how Amazon helps small businesses.     3. Catch me up A crowd of Palestinians, including children, wait to receive food in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, on Wednesday. Photo: Mahmoud Issa via Getty Images 🌏 Israel's defense minister pitched U.S. officials on a multinational military force with troops from Arab countries to escort humanitarian aid convoys in Gaza. Go deeper. 🗳️ The Biden campaign launched a new digital ad targeting Nikki Haley supporters in eight swing states. Go deeper. 🛳️ Major cruise lines are diverting upcoming cruises from the Port of Baltimore to Norfolk, Virginia, after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Go deeper.     4. 🐰 Happy Easter Photo: Yuki Iwamura/AP A religious procession, the Way of the Cross, crosses the Brooklyn Bridge today after leaving Brooklyn's St. James Cathedral Basilica — marking Good Friday, at the start of the Easter weekend.     A message from Amazon Amazon tools help small businesses thrive     After starting StoveShelf in his Milwaukee apartment, Scott turned to Amazon tools to grow his small business. "I love Seller Forums," said Scott. "The community is pretty awesome." The result: Amazon tools helped brands grow 20% year over year. Learn more.   Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: