In this episode, Jacob and I discuss the AI-powered episode Jacob created last week - a fascinating experiment using Eleven Labs to clone his voice. He walks through his entire workflow from capturing voice notes and using Claude to help refine ideas, to the challenges of making the AI voice sound natural. We also chat about the ethics and concerns around voice cloning technology.

Let us know what you thought of the AI episode here. Would you listen to more content like that?

👉 What did you think of the AI Episode?

Later, I share insights from a recent trip - particularly how challenging it was to create content while traveling with family, balancing capturing moments versus actually experiencing them. I also provide honest feedback on travel gear like the DJI Osmo Mobile gimbal and DJI Mic Minis.

Some of the Things We Cover 👇

🟢 Eleven Labs voice cloning requires verification and paid plans, taking about 5 hours to process the audio samples you provide

🟢 Creating an AI voice that sounds natural in conversation is much harder than for scripted content - Jacob's voice clone worked well for documentary-style narration but wouldn't work for natural conversation

🟢 When traveling and creating content, consider batch processing rather than trying to publish on the go - capturing journal-style voice notes for later refinement works better than trying to create finished content while traveling

🟢 Convenience beats quality when creating content on the move - simpler tools that are quick to set up (like your phone) often win over specialized equipment that takes time to configure

🟢 Consider whether gear purchases like gimbals match your actual content style - they're great for filmmaking but overkill for simple travel documentation

Resources

🟢 Eleven Labs - AI voice cloning platform Jacob used to create his voice clone (https://elevenlabs.io)

🟢 Claude - AI assistant used to help refine ideas and create content

🟢 VoicePal - App for recording and expanding on journal entries through AI questioning

🟢 DJI Osmo Mobile 7/7P - Smartphone gimbal for stabilized video (https://www.dji.com/osmo-mobile-7)

🟢 DJI Mic Mini - Wireless microphone system (https://www.dji.com/uk/mic-mini)

🟢 Alitu - Our podcast maker app with recording, editing and hosting (https://www.alitu.com)

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and catching up

02:05 Jacob's AI-powered episode experiment

05:20 How Jacob created his voice clone with Eleven Labs

08:02 Voice cloning quality and accuracy

14:11 Content workflow with AI assistance

20:15 Script development and voice generation challenges

25:43 The threat of AI voice cloning for scams

30:56 Potential positive uses for AI voices

37:55 Colin's travel content creation experiences

41:44 The challenge of creating while experiencing

46:24 Finding time to edit during travel

51:37 Balancing documentation and enjoyment

55:52 Review of DJI Osmo Mobile gimbal

58:53 Experience with DJI Mic Minis