Ukrainian media outlet launches first AI tool to let readers listen to articles from any line

Ukrainian media company Vector is behind what it says is a global first in digital journalism: letting readers start listening to an article from any point, the company announced in a press release on May 26.

Vector, a media platform focused on the creative economy, launched the new artificial intelligence-powered narration tool in partnership with Respeecher, the Ukrainian voice technology startup known for recreating the voices of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader in major Hollywood productions.

The tool allows users to click on any sentence in an article — not only the beginning — on Vector’s website and immediately hear it read aloud in a natural-sounding voice. It is designed to make content more accessible, especially for people with visual impairments or for those who prefer audio over reading.

"Our goal was to change the paradigm of content consumption not only in Ukraine but globally," said Ismail Osbanov, CEO of Vector.

"Imagine you're reading an article at home and realize you need to leave for errands. Instead of stopping and forgetting about it, you can continue listening in the car."

Thanks to Respeecher's advanced text-to-speech models, users can hear the articles in the voices of well-known Ukrainian figures like businessman Garik Korogodsky, musician Positiff, and entrepreneur Artem Borodatiuk, the press release said.

Respeecher's CTO Dmytro Bielievtsov says this collaboration is a natural evolution of their work.

"In film, we typically use speech-to-speech technology, where a live actor performs with the voice of another. But in cases where full automation is needed, like article narration, text-to-speech is the way to go, where a machine generates natural-sounding speech from text," Bielievtsov said.

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The Kyiv IndependentDmytro Basmat