Thanks to AI, Jerry Garcia can now read to you

Jerry Garcia has been gone for almost 30 years, but thanks to AI, Grateful Dead fans can now enjoy the experience of the late rocker reading to them. 

According to Billboard, Garcia’s estate has teamed with AI company ElevenLabs for an AI-generated version of Garcia’s voice, which will read audiobooks, poetry, articles and more through the Iconic Listening Experience on the ElevenReader app.

A company spokesperson tells Billboard they worked “in close collaboration with the Jerry Garcia estate to ensure that the reproduction of Garcia’s voice was as authentic and true to his legacy as possible.”

In addition to use on the app, the Jerry Garcia Foundation has plans to use the AI-generated voice in future projects. 

“My father was a pioneering artist, who embraced innovative audio and visual technologies,” Jerry’s daughter Keelin Garcia, who’s the co-founder and VP of the Jerry Garcia Foundation, shares. “Now, as technological landscapes continue to expand, ElevenLabs AI Audio technology will offer fans the first opportunity to hear and stream a replica of my father’s voice reading their favorite books and other written content.”

Garcia is one of several celebrities whose voice has been recreated by ElevenLabs using AI. Others include Judy Garland, James Dean and Sir Laurence Olivier.

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