Harry Yeff joins ElevenLabs as Artist-in-Research

I have been working with voice and AI for nearly a decade as an artist. Joining ElevenLabs as Artist-in-Research, I am excited to explore the emerging universe of audio AI through the lens of creative experimentation.
In my research, I will work with both publicly available and still developed audio AI tools, engage with ElevenLabs’ engineering, product and safety teams as well as the creative community and researchers looking into the ethical use of AI technologies, to inspire dialogue and mutual inspiration.
This collaboration is not just about AI audio technology—it’s about fostering discourse between art and innovation, acknowledging the anxieties surrounding new technology, and the AI’s impact on society.
My initial focus has been on recent developments in voice-based human-machine interaction. I believe that conversational AI can be a design and artistic medium. ‘Sculpting’ an agent to create real-time dialogue is a novel experiential interactivity that could not happen without the innovations in audio AI technology.
I predict AI agents to become a common artistic medium in the coming years, but for now it remains a lightly trodden path. In my work I have seen how experiential artworks driven by a clear vision can reveal the human touch required in application of generative technologies.
When used correctly, they help find new ways to explore connections between us humans, and even the connection we have with the natural world — a counter narrative to what many assume is a cold, digital innovation.