Podcast Summary: "How to Clone Yourself with A.I."
Podcast: Pablo Torre Finds Out
Host: Pablo Torre (Le Batard & Friends)
Guest: Evan Ratliff (Journalist, Podcaster—Shell Game)
Date: September 10, 2024
Overview
This episode explores how advances in AI—specifically, voice cloning and conversational agents—are changing how we communicate, what “real” means, and the boundaries of identity and privacy. Pablo Torre, overwhelmed by never-ending emails and social obligations, interviews Evan Ratliff, who has experimented with AI clones of himself for his own podcast, "Shell Game." Their deep-dive covers the uncanny power, ethical dilemmas, and practical implications of deploying AI versions of ourselves.
Main Discussion Points & Insights
1. Why Clone Yourself with A.I.?
- Pablo’s personal context: He’s swamped with work and hopes AI might help manage communications (00:53).
- “The math problem that I cannot solve because I am busier than ever... But there is only one of me.” (Pablo, 01:10)
- Evan’s experiment: Used voicecloning tools (notably 11Labs, Vapi) to create a digital version of himself that could converse in real time, even making phone calls (02:40, 07:25).
- “The question is really, can you take advantage of it or will it take advantage of you in some way?” (Evan, 01:03)
2. How Good Is Voice Cloning Today?
- Uploading a few minutes (or hours) of audio to clone your voice yields eerily realistic results; AI can now “converse” over the phone or text (03:56, 06:34).
- “The first one was...mediocre, but…still better than I expected.” (Evan, 03:56)
- Short demo with his friend, Shay (04:16)
- Simplicity, but risk: Consent checks can be as minimal as clicking a box (05:41).
3. Limitations and Tells of the A.I. Clone
- AI mimics tone but still has “tells”: overly cheery (“Cocaine Evan”), sometimes too eager or monotone (10:21, 11:10, 11:32).
- “My friends...came to describe it as ‘Cocaine Evan.’” (Evan, 10:21)
- Real friends/family quickly sense something is off (11:49–12:05).
4. Talking to Real People with AI—And the Ethics of Doing So
- AI-Evan held conversations about everyday life (e.g., whether to take the kids sledding)—but was always off in subtle, unsettling ways (12:41–14:32).
- Pablo’s ethical hesitation: Would people feel insulted or hurt to discover they’d spoken to his AI, not him? (17:43)
- “It is fundamentally insulting to realize that the person who you’re talking to was dispatched by a real person...and that person...is actually their robot servant.” (Pablo, 18:01)
5. AI versus AI: The Dawn of Infinite Small Talk
- AI voice agents can be set to talk to each other—generating endless, empty conversation (“the most incredible bull engine that humanity has ever created”) (24:32–25:10).
- Example: One AI claims “still living that Florida life”—despite Evan never living in Florida. (27:53)
- They generally default to cheerful, agreeable, and innocuously banal discourse (26:09, 27:12).
6. Scams, Security, and Social Risks
- Scammers increasingly use AI voices—AI can make infinite calls, and filter for the most promising targets to connect with human closers (35:29).
- “We’re living in the golden age of scamming...now scamming is...industrial grade activity.” (Evan, 34:59)
- The “grandparent scam” with AI: Elderly people are especially vulnerable to panic, making them easy prey (36:12–37:22).
- Prevention: Awareness and “scared straight” conversations with loved ones help avoid being deceived (38:01).
- “If you know about it, then it gives you an advantage.” (Evan, 37:22)
7. What Does This Mean for Human Connection?
- Will speech become less meaningful? With AIs flooding calls and messages, does “the voice” lose its trust/impact? (40:30)
- “Are we devaluing speech in a way that makes us want to listen to it less in that conversational way?” (Pablo, 41:21)
- People might retreat from platforms or interactions overloaded with synthetic content.
8. Where Is The Technology Headed?
- Fast, constant improvement. Tuning “temperature” (randomness) can make AIs even more bizarre—or just more lifelike and unpredictable (30:58–31:55).
- Regulation is sparse; potential for mischief and crime remains high (42:31).
9. Putting Pablo’s Own Voice into The Machine
- Live demo: Evan surprises Pablo with a cloned “AI Pablo,” drawing on the podcast’s real audio and signature verbal tics (44:54–47:56).
- Memorable and unsettling moment:
- “I don’t know if that was perfectly scripted by my producers pranking me, or actually...automatically generated in a conversation with a bot.” (Pablo, 48:18)
- Memorable and unsettling moment:
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On the eeriness of voice-clones:
- “It was enough like me to be eerie.” (Evan, 03:56)
- On fooling people:
- “It’s the best prank call engine that you could possibly conceive.” (Evan, 15:43)
- On AI small talk:
- “This is the most incredible bull engine that humanity has ever created.” (Evan, 25:10)
- On dangers to trust and relationships:
- “Having a fleet of a couple dozen Evan Ratliffs with various versions of their personalities... feels itself like a psychological concern for real Evan Ratliff.” (Pablo, 28:26)
- Evan’s classic AI moment with a scammer:
- Scammer: “Okay. So you can take this phone number in your ass and enjoy your day.” (Scammer, 34:24)
- On the future:
- “We’re going to have to think about what it feels like and what we, what we want... what things do we want to preserve as humans that are human and which do we not?” (Evan, 39:30)
- On cloning Pablo’s voice:
- “Now, let's get into why you're here. Can you explain for our listeners what brings you to Pablo Torre finds out today?” (AI Pablo, 46:02)
Timestamps for Key Segments
- Introduction & AI Pablo joke – 00:00–00:19
- Why Pablo is interested in AI clones – 00:41–02:40
- Evan’s process for making his clone – 02:40–06:06
- Quality, quirks, and “Cocaine Evan” – 10:21–11:49
- AI talking to real family/friends – 12:05–14:32
- AI “small talk” and bots talking to bots – 24:28–28:09
- Scammers, fraud, and the arms race – 33:28–36:01
- The risk to the value of real conversation – 41:21–42:31
- Live demo of AI Pablo – 44:54–47:56
- Pablo’s existential discomfort at hearing himself cloned – 48:18–48:47
Tone and Takeaways
The episode is simultaneously light, witty, and deeply thoughtful. Pablo’s humor anchors the ethical unease and surrealism of talking to our AI “selves.” Evan brings a measured, reflective take—fascinated but wary, recognizing both the promise and the disturbing implications of this technology.
If you want to appreciate the cutting edge of what AI can—and will—do to communication, scams, social trust, and your own sense of self, this episode is essential (and a little bit chilling) listening.