AI company lets deceased celebrities read to you. Hear what it sounds like.

Hearing the voice of Sir Laurence Olivier while updating work notes may not be as exciting as watching the celebrated English actor on stage or television, but it could make your morning commute more interesting.

This is the vision of AI startup ElevenLabs, which announced this week that fans of Hollywood icons such as Judy Garland and James Dean can now listen to the voices of the deceased movie stars reading books, articles and other digital texts.

The company said it has reached agreements with the estates of Olivier, Garland, Dean and Burt Reynolds to add their voices to a library of AI-generated voices in ElevenLab’s new Reader app. The product lets users listen to texts on their phone, with the actors’ voices available for individual streaming.

ElevenLabs did not disclose details of any financial compensation it offers to the actors’ estates.

“We deeply respect their legacy and are honored to have their voices as part of our platform,” said Dustin Blank, head of partnerships at ElevenLabs, in a blog post. “Adding them to our growing roster of speakers is an important step forward in our mission to make content accessible in any language and in any voice.”

Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland’s daughter and representative of her estate, said in the post that her family was pleased “to now make our mother’s voice available to the countless millions of people who love her.”

The use of AI to replicate a voice has attracted negative attention after being used in nefarious ways, including the creation of a fake robocall by President Joe Biden urging people not to vote in the New Hampshire presidential primary.

In another incident, actress Scarlett Johansson May said she was “shocked, angry and incredulous” after discovering that a voice option in OpenAI’s ChatGPT app sounded like herself. Johansson had turned down OpenAI founder Sam Altman’s offer to voice ChatGPT’s text-to-speech product. Altman said the voice was not Johansson’s.

AI was a central theme in the SAG-AFTRA strike last year. A new actors’ contract includes restrictions on artificial intelligence. TV and film producers must get actors’ consent to use a digital likeness, and performers are also entitled to compensation for using AI to create their virtual likeness.