The artificial intelligence company unveiled its new voice engine technology on Friday, just over a week after filing a trademark application for the name.

The company claims that it can recreate a person's voice with just 15 seconds of recording that person speaking.

OpenAI says it plans to test it with early testers, but “will not generally release this technology at this time” due to the risk of misuse.

“We recognize that producing speech that resembles people’s voices poses serious risks, which are particularly great in an election year,” the San Francisco company said in a statement.

In New Hampshire, authorities are investigating robocalls sent to thousands of voters just before the presidential primary that featured an AI-generated voice imitating President Joe Biden.

A number of start-up companies are already selling voice cloning technology, some of which are available to the public or to select business customers such as entertainment studios.

OpenAI says its initial voice engine testers agreed not to impersonate a person without their consent and to disclose that the voices are AI-generated.

The company, best known for its chatbot and image generator DALL-E, took a similar approach when it announced but did not widely release its video generator Sora.

However, a trademark application filed on March 19 shows that OpenAI is likely aiming to get into the speech recognition and digital voice assistant business.

Ultimately, improving this technology could help OpenAI compete with other voice products like Amazon's Alexa.

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By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice on September 18, 2023

Woda Cooper official Denis Blackburn at a Nags Head Commissioners meeting last year. The company’s proposed 54-unit project was rejected there.

Two weeks after its proposal was unanimously rejected by the Manteo Board of Commissioners, the Dare County Commissioners will be looking for a way to move forward on a planned Woda Cooper housing development when they meet on Tuesday, Sept. 19, in special session.

The latest in a growing string of housing setbacks for the county came on Sept. 6 when the Manteo Commissioners voted against allowing the proposed 46-unit development at the end of Bowsertown Road to be connected to the town’s wastewater system. That marked the second time in the past few years that the Manteo Board has rejected such a hookup, although the first project was much larger, at a planned 120 units.

After the Sept. 6 verdict in Manteo, Dare County Manager Bobby Outten told the Voice that “we’re disappointed in the Manteo decision, but we’re going to continue to work to bring workforce or essential housing to the county.”

In a brief email to the Voice, Outten said the idea of the Sept. 19 Dare Commissioners meeting is “to find a way to move forward, not necessarily in Manteo.”

Thus far, county efforts to build what they call workforce or essential housing has run into a wall of opposition at the local level—with municipal commissioners, reflecting the view of many constituents, soundly rejecting several proposals involving the county’s development partners, Woda Cooper and Coastal Affordable Housing, LLC.

In August 2022, the Kill Devil Hills Commissioners defeated an effort to rezone the 44-acre Baum tract to potentially pave the way for a high-density multifamily housing site envisioned by Coastal Affordable Housing and the county. And early this year, the Nags Head Commissioners, responding to significant community opposition, opted to rezone an area that would have potentially housed a 54-unit Woda Cooper housing development.

In unincorporated Wanchese, which is governed by the Dare County Board of Commissioners, that board’s May 1 approval of a 60-unit cluster home development occurred in the face of impassioned efforts from a community that turned out in force at a series of meetings to register their staunch opposition.

And even after greenlighting the cluster home project, the Dare Commissioners, acknowledging that intense level of opposition, voted to remove 22 districts from the cluster home ordinance that had paved the way for the Wanchese project.

As the county tries on Sept. 19 to come up with a way to bring the Woda Cooper housing plan to fruition, it is seeking a thus far elusive victory on the housing front. And for his part, Outten hopes that one success will lead to others.

“It’s much like beach nourishment was back in the early 90’s,” he told the Voice earlier this year. “Everybody was reluctant until we finally did it and found that it was beneficial, wasn’t harmful, and was a good thing.”

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS: BIDDER PRE-QUALIFICATION REQUEST:

Barnhill Contracting Company has been selected as the Construction Manager @ Risk by Dare County and is seeking to pre-qualify construction trade contractors to submit bids for the furnishing labor, materials, equipment, and tools for the Manteo Youth Center located in Manteo, NC. Please note: Only subcontractors who have been prequalified by Barnhill Contracting Company will be able to submit a Bid. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The scope of the project encompasses approximately 4,300 sqft of new construction on a .72-acre site located at 101 Fernando St, Manteo, NC 27954. The project is a single-story structure with Cold Formed Steel framed bearing walls supporting a Standing Seam Metal Roof over Wood Trusses and Rafters housing administrative, assembly, kitchen, and support spaces.  Principal trade and specialty contractors are solicited for the following Bid Packages: BP0100 – General Trades / Temp Fencing; BP0105 – Final Cleaning; BP0205 – Demolition & Abatement; BP0390 – Turnkey Concrete; BP0400 – Turnkey Masonry; BP0500 – Structural Steel / Misc Steel / Stairs & Rails / Canopies/ Awning; BP0602 – Rough Carpentry / Wood Trusses / Composite Siding; BP0740 – Roofing; BP0790 – Caulking / Sealants /Waterproofing; BP0800 – Doors, Frames, & Hardware; BP0840 – Glass & Glazing / Storefront / Louvers / Shutters; BP0925 – Drywall/Framing; BP960 – Resilient Flooring, Carpet, Base, & Epoxy; BP0980 – Acoustical Ceilings; BP0990 – Painting And Wallcoverings; BP1005 – Specialties / Markerboards; BP1010 – Signage; BP1230 – Finish Carpentry and Casework; BP1250 – Window Treatments; BP2100 – Fire Protection; BP2200 – Plumbing; BP2300 – HVAC; BP2600 – Turnkey Electrical; BP3100 – Earthwork / Asphalt Paving / Site Utilities; BP3213 – Site Concrete; BP3231 – Fences & Gates; BP3290 – Landscaping. Packages may be added and/or deleted at the discretion of the Construction Manager. Historically underutilized business firms are encouraged to complete participation submittals.  Interested contractors should submit their completed prequalification submittals, by September 29, 2023, to Meredith Terrell at mterrell@barnhillcontracting.com or hardcopies can be mailed to Barnhill Contracting Company PO Box 31765 Raleigh, NC 27622 (4325 Pleasant Valley Road, NC 27612). PREQUALIFICATION FORMS CAN BE OBTAINED from our online plan room, by clicking on the “Dare County – Youth Center – CD Budget & Prequalification” project under the Public Jobs tab or by contacting Meredith Terrell by email or phone at 919-781-7210. Please note: Once Bid Documents become available, they will be posted to our plan room website shown above, however only subcontractors who have been prequalified by Barnhill Contracting Company will be able to submit a Bid. Target bid period: Mid-October to Mid-November.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS: BIDDER PRE-QUALIFICATION REQUEST:

Barnhill Contracting Company has been selected as the Construction Manager @ Risk by Dare County and is seeking to pre-qualify construction trade contractors to submit bids for the furnishing labor, materials, equipment, and tools for the EMS Station #8 located in Manns Harbor, NC. Please note: Only subcontractors who have been prequalified by Barnhill Contracting Company will be able to submit a Bid. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The scope of the project encompasses approximately 6,200 sqft of new construction on a 3.4-acre site located at 6677 Highway 64/264, Manns Harbor, NC 27953. The project is a single-story structure with masonry bearing walls supporting a Standing Seam Metal Roof over Light Gauge Trusses housing administrative, living and support spaces along with 2 apparatus bays.  Principal trade and specialty contractors are solicited for the following Bid Packages: BP0100 – General Trades / Temp Fencing; BP0105 – Final Cleaning; BP0390 – Turnkey Concrete; BP0400 – Turnkey Masonry; BP0500 – Structural Steel / Misc Steel / Stairs & Rails / Canopies / Awning; BP0505 – Light Gauge Metal Trusses; BP0740 – Roofing; BP0750 – Composite Siding / Metal Wall Panels; BP0790 – Caulking / Sealants / Waterproofing; BP0800 – Doors, Frames, & Hardware; BP0836 – Overhead Doors; BP0840 – Glass & Glazing / Storefront / Louvers / Shutters; BP0925 – Drywall/Framing; BP960 – Resilient Flooring, Carpet, Base, & Epoxy; BP0980 – Acoustical Ceilings; BP0990 – Painting And Wallcoverings; BP1005 – Specialties / Markerboards; BP1010 – Signage; BP1050 – Lockers; BP1230 – Finish Carpentry and Casework; BP1250 – Window Treatments; BP2100 – Fire Protection; BP2200 – Plumbing; BP2300 – HVAC; BP2600 – Turnkey Electrical; BP3100 – Earthwork / Asphalt Paving / Site Utilities; BP3213 – Site Concrete; BP3231 – Fences & Gates; BP3290 – Landscaping. Packages may be added and/or deleted at the discretion of the Construction Manager. Historically underutilized business firms are encouraged to complete participation submittals.  Interested contractors should submit their completed prequalification submittals, by September 29, 2023 to Meredith Terrell at mterrell@barnhillcontracting.com or hardcopies can be mailed to Barnhill Contracting Company PO Box 31765 Raleigh, NC 27622 (4325 Pleasant Valley Road, NC 27612). PREQUALIFICATION FORMS CAN BE OBTAINED from our online plan room, by clicking on the “Dare County – EMS 8 – CD Budget & Prequalification” project under the Public Jobs tab or by contacting Meredith Terrell by email or phone at 919-781-7210. Please note: Once Bid Documents become available, they will be posted to our plan room website shown above, however only subcontractors who have been prequalified by Barnhill Contracting Company will be able to submit a Bid. Target bid period: Mid-October to Mid-November.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS: BIDDER PRE-QUALIFICATION REQUEST:

Barnhill Contracting Company has been selected as the Construction Manager @ Risk by Dare County and is seeking to pre-qualify construction trade contractors to submit bids for the furnishing labor, materials, equipment, and tools for the EMS Station #9 located in Kitty Hawk, NC. Please note: Only subcontractors who have been prequalified by Barnhill Contracting Company will be able to submit a Bid. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The scope of the project encompasses approximately 7,600 sqft of new construction on a 1.13-acre site located at 4907 Putter Lane, Kitty Hawk, NC27949. The project is a single-story structure with masonry bearing walls supporting a Standing Seam Metal Roof over Light Gauge Trusses housing administrative, living and support spaces along with 3 apparatus bays.  Principal trade and specialty contractors are solicited for the following Bid Packages: BP0100 – General Trades / Temp Fencing; BP0105 – Final Cleaning; BP0390 – Turnkey Concrete; BP0400 – Turnkey Masonry; BP0500 – Structural Steel / Misc Steel / Stairs & Rails / Canopies / Awning; BP0505 – Light Gauge Metal Trusses; BP0740 – Roofing; BP0750 – Composite Siding / Metal Wall Panels; BP0790 – Caulking / Sealants / Waterproofing; BP0800 – Doors, Frames, & Hardware; BP0836 – Overhead Doors; BP0840 – Glass & Glazing / Storefront / Louvers / Shutters; BP0925 – Drywall/Framing; BP960 – Resilient Flooring, Carpet, Base, & Epoxy; BP0980 – Acoustical Ceilings; BP0990 – Painting And Wallcoverings; BP1005 – Specialties / Markerboards; BP1010 – Signage; BP1050 – Lockers; BP1230 – Finish Carpentry and Casework; BP1250 – Window Treatments; BP2100 – Fire Protection; BP2200 – Plumbing; BP2300 – HVAC; BP2600 – Turnkey Electrical; BP3100 – Earthwork / Asphalt Paving / Site Utilities; BP3213 – Site Concrete; BP3231 – Fences & Gates; BP3290 – Landscaping.  Packages may be added and/or deleted at the discretion of the Construction Manager. Historically underutilized business firms are encouraged to complete participation submittals.  Interested contractors should submit their completed prequalification submittals, by September 29, 2023, to Meredith Terrell at mterrell@barnhillcontracting.com or hardcopies can be mailed to Barnhill Contracting Company PO Box 31765 Raleigh, NC 27622 (4325 Pleasant Valley Road, NC 27612). PREQUALIFICATION FORMS CAN BE OBTAINED from our online plan room, by clicking on the “Dare County – EMS 9 – CD Budget & Prequalification” project under the Public Jobs tab or by contacting Meredith Terrell by email or phone at 919-781-7210. Please note: Once Bid Documents become available, they will be posted to our plan room website shown above, however only subcontractors who have been prequalified by Barnhill Contracting Company will be able to submit a Bid. Target bid period: Mid-October to Mid-November.

The post The Outer Banks Voice – Dare County to strive once more on Woda Cooper housing proposal appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Tony Bennett, the legendary crooner of American music standards, has passed away at the age of 96, leaving a profound impact on the music world and the city he loved so much, San Francisco, according to AP News. Bennett’s illustrious career spanned seven decades, during which he left an indelible mark on the music world with his signature style and grace.

Bennett’s devotion to American song led to the creation of new standards, including his most famous song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” which won him two Grammy Awards and became the city’s unofficial anthem. The passionate singer’s connection to the city was eternal, and his contributions to its art and culture left a lasting impression, evoking mixed feelings in San Francisco on the day of his death.

Born in Astoria, Queens, the man once named Anthony Dominick Benedetto became the last of the great saloon singers of the mid-20th century. As he navigated the ever-changing musical landscape, Bennett has demonstrated resilience and adaptability, collaborating with musicians of diverse generations and backgrounds.

Bennett went beyond the traditional pop and jazz worlds and engaged in collaborations with contemporary artists such as Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse and Carrie Underwood. His dedication to bringing the Great American Songbook to new audiences led to several successful albums and proved that old and new can effortlessly coexist and thrive together.

San Francisco holds a special place in Tony Bennett’s heart, symbolized by the statue of Bennett unveiled in 2016 at the Fairmont Hotel, where he first sang “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” in 1961. Through the decades, Bennett continued his tradition of loving the city and, at the age of 90, returned to perform and celebrate in his honor. Today, San Francisco mourns the loss of the voice that so perfectly captured the essence of the city.

Following news of his death, Breed, Mayor of San Francisco London, expressed the city’s gratitude for Bennett’s contributions, stating, “Tony Bennett has provided us with a song, a spirit and a magic that is connected to the history of this city and those who we are is connected.” Breed added that Bennett’s affinity for San Francisco “will stay with us forever.”

From the day he sang “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” at the Fairmont Hotel, Tony Bennett has embodied the love for this city shared by all San Franciscans throughout the decades since. Today we honor his memory and celebrate his legacy that will stay with us forever. pic.twitter.com/lHzO1O9LN9

— London Breed (@LondonBreed) July 21, 2023

Even the famous Fog of San Francisco paid tribute to Bennett. Popular Twitter account @KarlTheFog mourned Bennett’s death, saying: “ RIP Tony Bennett. Thank you for the city anthem. Our golden sun shines for you today.”

As the sun sets on the life of a legend, the people of San Francisco and beyond will forever cherish the memories and tunes Tony Bennett gave us. May his golden voice continue to reverberate through the hills of his favorite city, reminding us all of the magic and spirit that bound them so beautifully.

The post The Voice That Stole San Francisco’s Coronary heart Silenced at appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

People called her “the high priestess of the soul” or a jazz singer, but Nina Simone said her music contained more folk and blues than jazz. Dave Marsh, the music critic, suggested calling her a “freedom singer”. Bob Dylan said she was an artist he loved and admired, and the fact that she recorded his songs validated everything he did. Along with Dylan’s work, she performed songs by Animals, Leonard Cohen, and Jacque Brel. Kanye West sampled them in his songs. Barack Obama had her song “Sinnerman” on his workout playlist. The writers Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin and Langston Hughes were her close friends. She trained as a classical pianist and Bach was her favorite composer because of his technical perfection.

Raised in Tryon, North Carolina by a mother who was a Methodist preacher and a father who did everything he could get during the Depression, including a barber, handyman, and delivery driver, she had never been to a bar until she was playing at Midtown Bar & Grill in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and when asked what she would like to drink, asked for a glass of milk. When Vernon Jordan, the leader of the Urban League, asked her why she wasn’t more active in the civil rights movement, she replied, “I’m civil rights, motherfucker.”

Nina Simone

Simone (1933-2003) was uncategorizable and unique, making every song she sang her own. Born Eunice Waymon, she trained as a classical pianist and studied with Juilliard for a year, but was not accepted into the Curtis School of Music in Philadelphia, a decision many attributed to racism. Simone was an activist during the civil rights movement and famously said that it is an artist’s duty to reflect on time. She left the United States and moved to Liberia, then Switzerland, before finally settling in southern France.

“Why? (The King of Love is dead)”

Nina Simone and her band played this song in Westbury Music Festival on Long Island, New York, 1968, three days after the death of Martin Luther King. They had just learned the song, which her bassist Gene Taylor wrote in response to King’s murder, and the song is angry, heartbreaking and catchy. Simone’s voice rings out as she sings: “Turn the other cheek he would plead / Love your neighbors was his creed / death in pain humiliation that he did not fear / With his Bible by his side / He did not hide from his enemies / It is hard to think this great man is dead. ‘The song appears on Simone’s 1968 live album’Said Nuff.

“To be young, talented and black”

Simone and her friend Lorraine Hansberry linked through civil rights and radical politics. Before she died of cancer at the age of 34, Hansberry was the author of A raisin in the sun, I spoke to a group of essay winners and said to them, “I wanted to come here and speak to you on this opportunity because you are young, gifted and black.”

Simone said the words were in her head and she was sitting at the piano writing the song she said felt like a gift from the playwright. Her band leader wrote the words and she told him to keep it simple, something that “will forever make black kids around the world feel good”. The song, which became something of a civil rights anthem, was released on the record in 1970 Black gold.

“Mississippi Goddam”

Simone wrote this song in response to the bombing of a Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama, which killed four girls and to the murder of Medgar Evers in Mississippi. She reportedly sat down and wrote the song that opens “Alabama got me so angry / Tennessee made me lose my calm / And everyone knows about Mississippi Goddam.” in less than an hour and said it felt like firing bullets at the members of the Ku Klux Klan who planted the dynamite in the church. Dick Gregory commented, “We all wanted to say it. She said, it. Mississippi, god damn it. “The song with intense, pungent lyrics and an uptempo beat became a famous protest song that some radio stations sent back in two parts. It was released in 1964 on the album Nina Simone in Concert.

“I wish I knew what it would feel like to be free”

This song was an instrumental written by Jazz pianist Billy Taylor, with lyrics later added by Dick Dallas. Simone recorded it for her 1967 album Silk and Soul and with lyrics like I wish I knew how it would feel to be free / I wish I could break all the chains that hold me / I wish I could do it all say what to say and I wish you could know / what it means to be me / then you would see and agree / that every man should be free, along with Simone’s art, it became another song that was important for the civil rights movement is.

“Backlash Blues”

This song, featured on the 1967 album Nina Simone Sings the Blues, comes from a protest poem written by Simone’s friend Langston Hughes. The music she wrote is more straight forward than many of her songs, but the lyrics include, “You give me second class houses / And second class schools / Do you think all colored people / Are just second class fools?” are moving and politically focused like many of their other songs.

I have bewitched you: the autobiography of Nina Simone

In Simone’s 1991 autobiography, made with Stephen Cleary, she writes: “Everything that happened to me as a child has to do with music.” She began piano lessons in her small North Carolina town, walked two miles and crossed the railroad tracks to study with her first piano teacher, Muriel Massinovitch. On her first piano recital at age eleven, her parents were removed from their front row seats and she refused to play until they were back in those seats and could see her hands as she played.

What happened, Miss Simone?

Liz Garbus’ documentary, which opened at Sundance in 2015, shows some of the diverse forms of Simone’s life, from studying as a concert pianist to playing in bars to touring the world, working in the civil rights movement and moving to Liberia in Switzerland and South France. Her longtime guitarist Al Schackman is interviewed along with her daughter Lisa Simone Kelly, executive producer of the film, and Lisa’s father Andrew Stroud.

Simone’s archive footage is stunning and her struggles, especially in the latter part of her life, are touched, sometimes to the point that they overshadow her incredible contributions to music, but it made me think of something in Anna Malaika Tubbs’ most recent book . The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation.

In it, Tubbs writes about Malcolm X’s mother, Louise Little, who spent years in a mental hospital, and suggests part of the reason she was there because a black woman was trying to tell the truth. Attallah Shabbazz, daughter of Malcolm X and a friend of the family, says of Simone in the documentary: “She was not contradicting time, times were contradicting her.”

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