Audio & Speech

Today's Stories

1. 1

   Apple says raw audio from Siri Audio Intelligence stays inaccessible to it

   At Wednesday's iPhone Duo launch event, Apple announced Siri Audio Intelligence features including Siri Recap, Live Rewind, Sound Recognition, and Music Recognition, alongside a privacy document. Apple states raw audio is processed in the Secure Exclave of the S11 chip, not saved as a file, and is inaccessible to watchOS, apps, the user, or Apple, replacing any prior cloud-processing assumptions.

   The privacy promise hinges on the Secure Exclave hardware isolation and the continuously overwritten buffer never creating an audio recording. Users must double-tap the Digital Crown for Live Rewind.

2. 2

   Suno launches v6 music models built with Warner, BMG, and Believe

   Suno is releasing v6 in three versions: a flagship for paying Pro and Premier subscribers, an experimental v6-wild, and a free, faster v6-mini for all users. Suno is shutting down all older models, moving the platform entirely to v6, and can now edit song parts, create mashups, and generate tracks from audio, images, and video.

   The company won't say which catalogs trained v6, so the test is whether the partnerships with Warner, BMG, and Believe hold up against ongoing lawsuits from Universal and Sony.

3. 3

   Amazon's Prime Video launches AI lip-sync dubbing on Maxton Hall

   Amazon's Prime Video is launching an AI-powered feature that aligns actors' lips with dubbed audio, starting with the English dub of the German series "Maxton Hall." This feature, currently available for seasons 1 and 2 of "Maxton Hall," will also be available for its third season on December 9th, expanding the reach of dubbed content.

   Prime Video plans to expand this lip-sync dubbing to additional titles in the future. The success of this feature may hinge on viewer acceptance of AI-altered visuals.

4. 4

   Suno v6 uses licensed music as lawsuits pile up

   Suno released Suno v6, a model family trained on licensed data from Warner Music Group, BMG and Believe. It includes three versions, with v6 and v6 wild for paying users and v6 mini for all. Suno v6 is not trained on the data used for previous models, a shift as the company faces lawsuits from labels like Sony and Universal Music Group over alleged copyright infringement.

   Whether Suno's licensed approach and new revenue streams satisfy rights holders. The company plans remix features only if artists opt in, and it still faces unresolved suits.

5. 5

   Caterpillar's Cat Digital Chief Says A.I. Will Fill Labor Gap

   Cat Digital, led by Ogi Redzic, is applying A.I. across Caterpillar's equipment, including a voice-based “Cat AI Assistant” for operator coaching and development of task autonomy for machines. Facing nearly 40% of current operators set to retire by 2031, Caterpillar positions A.I. to bridge the labor shortage without displacing jobs, transitioning workers to supervisor roles.

   Whether A.I.-coordinated construction sites become common in five to ten years, as Redzic predicts, and if the productivity gains from its A.I.-built software, tripling work with only 20-30% more people, become a new standard.

6. 6

   蔦谷好位置 and Novel Core discuss 'チート'

   蔦谷好位置 and Novel Core spoke with Rolling Stone Japan about their track 'チート', focusing on classical sampling and generative AI. The discussion highlights how AI tools are influencing music production, with artists like these exploring new creative possibilities despite technical and ethical questions.

   Whether the use of generative AI in sampling becomes more accepted in mainstream music, as these established figures are already engaging with it.