Goodreads Librarians Group discussion
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Questions (from Librarians only)
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[Closed] - Virtual Narrators
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Would definitely like an answer on this. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Consider putting "Attn Jaclyn" in your thread title for quicker staff response.
gem wrote: "Would definitely like an answer on this. The bots have already imported numerous books with "Virtual Voice" as an author."Just an FYI...dozens of audio editions have had "Virtual Voice" added as the narrator manually (not bot imported) over the past several months, by over a dozen different GR employees as well as volunteers.
"Virtual Voice" is Audible's AI narration, when did the bots start importing Audible editions? Can you link to one, I haven't seen any yet.
If Goodreads employees are adding Virtual Voice in the author field, it sounds like a decision has been made somewhere to add it but it would be good to get it in writing and maybe something in the Librarians’ Manual.I’ve not seen any added by bots. I came across it when responding to requests to add new Audible editions.
Mod
Open to other thoughts, otherwise I'll add this to the Manual next week.
If anyone sees these being added by the Amazon import please provide some links. Audible editions generally aren't being imported yet.
Adding it as narrator seems to me the simplest option. The information is then at the place where users are expecting to find it. And it is easier than adding it to the description, which has also the risk that it is lost when the description is replaced.
I honestly don't see any reason to doubt it. In 2024 AI is a member of the society :)
Tal wrote: "Virtual Voice" is Audible's AI narration, when did the bots start importing Audible editions? Can you link to one, I haven't seen any yet."Whoops, I made a bad assumption that bots had added these but didn't do my due diligence to actually check the changelog. I edited my post to reduce confusion.
I agree that VV should be included as an author, especially since the profile specifies it's computer generated.
Mod
As an audiobook user, and the person who is constantly requesting audiobooks to be added, I hope it's ok for me to comment here. Please add Virtual Voice as a narrator (so I know not to waste my money on the book.)
And one of the most important things, when adding audiobooks,
please note if it is Abridged or Unabridged.
I once saw a 16-hour book edited down to 5 hours, listening to that would have been pointless.
Also, please keep in mind that some of the people who listen to audiobooks are blind or maybe, like my sister, slowly going blind.
They are no longer able to read, so now they must listen.
It's an invaluable service to the caregiver to be able to quickly find a book on GR and have all the facts at hand to help them decide what to purchase or borrow from the library.
Thank you for reading this.
Edwina wrote: "And one of the most important things, when adding audiobooks,please note if it is Abridged or Unabridged.
I once saw a 16-hour book edited down to 5 hours, listening to that would have been pointless.
I think that the abridged should NOT be combined. It is NOT the same book.
Abridged and unabridged versions should be combined.
I know that is policy.I am saying the policy is wrong.
They might as well call Cliffs Notes the same book
Jaclyn wrote: "Interesting question! It makes sense to include Virtual Voice as a narrator, as members might find this information useful when selecting which book to listen to. (Personally, I'll skip a Virtual V..."Many thanks for the clarification. I’ll add Virtual Voice as a narrator from now on.
Question for the group: thoughts on naming the role “AI Narrator” instead of just “Narrator” to make it more clear the author is not a real person?I have a feeling that Virtual Voice will be the first of many AI narrators and differentiating them would be helpful to users.
Mod
![annob [on hiatus] (annob) | 4048 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1674812294p1/68231680.jpg)
I would vote against it. To add AI as part of the Narrator role is a grammatical qualifier. If it would be in the similar vein as introducing:Female Narrator
Male Narrator
UK Narrator
US Narrator
Human Narrator
In my opinion information that the narrator voice is AI generated would be better placed on the Author profile page bio section, not in the Role field.
I hope staff can take a thourogh think through on the matter as we'll soon have a large chunk of books 'written' by AI author names as well. In my opinion, those author names should not be added with "AI Author' in the Role field.
A Goodreads symbol 'free from AI' that GR Authors could use to mark their books and audiobooks with, would be a welcome development as a side solution.
Mod
As it's best to keep the role titles standardised on Goodreads, let's continue using 'narrator' for AI narration. As annob suggests, author profiles can then be used to specify the voice is AI.
Mod
Librarian Manual: Author names and profiles
Under the Add new author (add role) sub-heading to state:
For audiobooks or translated editions this field can be used to list narrators or translators. This includes AI narration, where the role should be narrator.
I've added an announcement about this change here.
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When I've encountered these, I've put a note in the description. Do I need to do anything else? I have assumed that Virtual Voice shouldn't be an added author.
Example from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Grump-Daddy-En...