JMC Voiceover Source Connect
jmichael@jmcvoiceover.com
202-738-1151
  • Home
  • My Demos
    • Commercial
    • Crisis Commercials
    • Medical
    • eLearning
    • Corporate
    • Automotive
    • TV Promo
    • TV Narration
    • Radio Imaging
    • Telephony
    • Political
  • Recent Work
  • Demo Production
    • Demo Production
    • Demo Production Guide
    • Commercial
    • Medical
    • eLearning
    • Corporate
    • Automotive
    • TV Promo
    • TV Narration
    • Radio Imaging
    • Telephony
    • Political
  • Coaching
    • Coaching
    • Voiceover Coaching Guide
  • Photo Gallery
  • Success Club
  • Podcast
  • Events
    • Euro Vo Retreat
    • VO Atlanta
    • One Voice Conference USA
  • Public Speaker Training
    • Public Speaker Training
    • Public Speaking Coach
  • Giving Back
  • Blog
  • Contact

The Robots Are Coming: And I Can’t Wait!

by J. Michael Collins

robot-voices-meme

The voice actor surveyed the wasteland before her. It had been some years since the robot voices had taken over. They arrived slowly…..seemingly harmless in their cylinders and cubes with cute names like Alexa, Cortana, and Siri. They may have been people once, even then, but in their disembodied form they became our friends, our companions, and for a time, our servants.

Only a few saw the revolution on the horizon. Lone voices in the wilderness warning of the devastation to come.

As she stepped over the debris-strewn terrain, our voice actor contemplated what had been lost. Southeast Asia succumbed first, surrendering hundreds of two-cent-per-word eLearning factories with hardly a fight. As the robots swept the Earth, ragged groups of survivors formed to attempt resistance. The Battle of Fiverr was legendary, with thousands upon thousands of gig economy VOs bravely making a last stand against the machines. The names of the martyrs are remembered to this day in the empty and dust-covered halls of get-rich-quick-in-VO social media groups where the high priests of thirty dollars a holler once sermonized their flocks.

Suddenly, she felt a crunch beneath her feet. It was what was left of a big red neon sign…..the wreckage of one of the great demo mills of yore. Beneath it, writhing in silent agony, was a once-mighty multi-level-marketing voiceover coach. The robots had taken his voice, just like all the rest.

She took one long final glance at the apocalyptic landscape, and then walked back inside her picturesque two-story lake house, admiring the lovely work the gardeners did this morning. She checked on her kids playing happily in their spacious bedrooms, her husband, whom she was proud to have helped retire at forty-five making breakfast in their Italian-marble-covered kitchen, and then strolled into her studio.

“Alexa,” she said, “How many jobs do I have this morning?” “You have eight new jobs this morning,” Alexa cheerfully replied. “I’ve added your highest-paying clients to the top of your queue. Those scripts are up first.”

She felt a pang of sorrow for collaborating with the robots. After all, they had killed off the entire low-budget voiceover industry, removing tens of thousands of aspiring talent from the game. With them, all those demo mills and snake oil salesmen lost everything as well, because all that were left were pros who could see right through their shiny sales pitches. Robots were the low end of the industry now.

The fleeting sadness came and went, however, as she turned her attention to the premium clients who needed her human voice that day. She recalled one of them joking, just after the invasion had begun and she had nervously asked if she would be fired. “Why would we replace you with AI?” the client asked. “We have standards. You do amazing work, and the best a robot can ever hope to be is almost as good as the real thing.”

 

Filed Under: Blog, Voiceover Industry

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. It's a Good Time to Be in Voiceover - Hire Freelance Voiceover Actors on VOICEOVERS.com says:
    September 12, 2019 at 2:17 pm

    […] to adapt. You can do that. You’re a professional, like industry thought-leaders Michael Collins (https://www.jmcvoiceover.com/2019/08/12/the-robots-are-coming-and-i-cant-wait/), and Marc Scott (http://marcscottvoiceover.com/attitude-equates-to-success/). Professionalism and […]

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Archives

Subscribe

"*" indicates required fields

Receive News & Updates
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

RECENT TWEETS

@jmcvoiceover

March 29th 2023 02:03:31

Breakfast. Vegas style. https://t.co/NismlGEQug

@jmcvoiceover

March 29th 2023 04:03:48

What an awesome night!

Thank you to my Celia Siegel Management team for helping me book the winning spot!

Now off… https://t.co/uIqOkSJAwp

@jmcvoiceover

March 29th 2023 02:03:38

Well, that doesn’t suck.

And congratulations to my co-winner Soraya Butler!!! https://t.co/XQ0gTBUn22

@jmcvoiceover

March 29th 2023 02:03:22

@KeaversVoice You won!

@jmcvoiceover

March 29th 2023 01:03:18

Time for the Reed Awards for political media. Thrilled to be nominated with my colleagues from Celia Siegel Managem… https://t.co/SjehF6wYd8

@jmcvoiceover

March 29th 2023 12:03:44

RT @academiaavoz: J Michael Collins @jmcvoiceover en A Voz Academia
#Locución #VoiceOver #actordedoblaje #actrizdedoblaje #doblaje #inteli…

@jmcvoiceover

March 28th 2023 11:03:30

The Weird Little Car came to Las Vegas, and the waiter cut off half of Tre Mosley and Mike Hathcote’s heads, but th… https://t.co/fHVs2vXyYE

@jmcvoiceover

March 27th 2023 10:03:58

@WhatHeSaidVO @DustinEbaugh I wish I could but I have to get caught up on work tonight, workshop tomorrow, Reed Awa… https://t.co/Nsx7naL09X

@jmcvoiceover

March 27th 2023 05:03:31

No rest for the wicked.

Our illustrious CEO Anna is heading home, but I’m off to Las Vegas to see what these knuc… https://t.co/dbwxIczO9o

@jmcvoiceover

March 27th 2023 05:03:10

@CherieBTay @CarinGilfry Great job!!! Wouldn’t want to go against you in an audition!

@jmcvoiceover

March 27th 2023 03:03:49

Goofy, Donald Duck, and a lobster walk into bar…. https://t.co/pSu4ce2rSI

@jmcvoiceover

March 27th 2023 01:03:16

You talkin’ to us?

The Bad Boys of VO, 2023 Edition.

And fried lobster.

VO Atlanta. Out. https://t.co/Qx4jqC1F4g

@jmcvoiceover

March 26th 2023 07:03:13

This is what community looks like.
It might seem weird to some to see owners of what you could think of as competin… https://t.co/lQoTyl2jdD

@jmcvoiceover

March 26th 2023 07:03:36

RT @markwaynevoice: My friends - voice coach ⁦@HearBradHyland⁩ (left) and demos producer/⁦@VOATLANTA⁩ #2 (whose wife, Anna, is #1, right) ⁦…

@jmcvoiceover

March 25th 2023 10:03:21

What time is it? Champagne thirty at VO Atlanta, because this is how we roll in the A-T-L! https://t.co/YlHaFQWbrg

@jmcvoiceover

March 25th 2023 01:03:53

They kidnapped me, I swear! https://t.co/lWkFtTQ3Gb

@jmcvoiceover

March 24th 2023 07:03:30

Well, we wish we didn’t have to, but we are literally out of places to put chairs, so with the exception of X-sessi… https://t.co/55je9PATYh

@jmcvoiceover

March 24th 2023 10:03:28

Looking forward to thanking these incredible talent for their service both to our country and our industry! https://t.co/L7bKk2ZQmZ

@jmcvoiceover

March 24th 2023 03:03:55

I am so proud of this beautiful woman right here who brought the absolute house down in the standing-room-only open… https://t.co/iGPnYUt7Zd

@jmcvoiceover

March 24th 2023 01:03:08

RT @RayColeIII: Just finished @MarcScott x session at #voatlanta2023, I now feel much more confident about sending marketing emails. You r…

@jmcvoiceover

March 24th 2023 01:03:02

RT @ustalent_: @BevStanding @VOATLANTA
VO ATLANTA 🎙️@ustalent_
#voatlanta #voatlanta2023 #atlanta #ustalent #vo #voiceover #voiceacting #…

@jmcvoiceover

March 24th 2023 01:03:45

RT @MarcScott: Day one of @VOATLANTA delivers. Anna and JMC know how to put on a memorable event!

#voatlanta

@jmcvoiceover

March 24th 2023 01:03:31

RT @AllAgesofGeek: How fun! @diana_kennedy is covering @VOATLANTA this year! ✨🎙️ https://t.co/tPOBO2mRXw

@jmcvoiceover

March 24th 2023 01:03:26

RT @_buf: First day at @VOATLANTA

The @CloseCredits signage looking good! https://t.co/ngyVGoqFY3

@jmcvoiceover

March 23rd 2023 08:03:24

VO Atlanta Keynote Debra Wilson is in the house!!! https://t.co/QegqgVcLx7

@jmcvoiceover

March 23rd 2023 04:03:32

@robvo @VOATLANTA Maaaaaaybe

@jmcvoiceover

March 23rd 2023 04:03:58

A little pre-conference nuttiness. See you tomorrow VO Atlanta peeps! https://t.co/ujzqaYOnJD

@jmcvoiceover

March 22nd 2023 06:03:59

Might as well inaugurate the step and repeat with Gene Lupo! https://t.co/fBE3oiqSfR

@jmcvoiceover

March 22nd 2023 02:03:27

The arrivals begin!

Heard God talking, turned around and found Maurice Scott! https://t.co/eldnftYCUC

@jmcvoiceover

March 22nd 2023 01:03:54

The unpacking begins… https://t.co/IiN6fZU6SD

@jmcvoiceover

March 21st 2023 01:03:51

The Kitten dominated game one, but what would happen in game two?

Tonight, on an all new Duckpin VO! https://t.co/all44OoUfT

@jmcvoiceover

March 19th 2023 12:03:37

@DanielButtreyVO A call for entries is put out a few months in advance. Anyone may submit, and uniquely in the indu… https://t.co/HNUG9OgSQb

@jmcvoiceover

March 18th 2023 03:03:53

@DanielButtreyVO Cheese, fruit, half a snickers, a muffin and a cookie. 😝

CONTACT
202-738-1151
jmichael@jmcvoiceover.com
  • Home
  • My Demos
  • Recent Work
  • Demo Production
  • Coaching
  • Photo Gallery
  • Success Club
  • Podcast
  • Events
  • Public Speaker Training
  • Giving Back
  • Blog
  • Contact

Privacy Policy
©2023 J. Michael Collins // Voice Over Site by Voice Actor Websites