Watch out, Alexa. Artificial voices are starting to sound just like humans

San Francisco (CNN Business)It could be any ad on YouTube: A blonde model playfully puts her hand in front of the camera lens, dons white sunglasses and flashes a grin. In the background, hip-hop music plays while an unmistakably female voice says, "Fashion changes, but style lasts forever." The ad -- part of a demo reel on YouTube created by a new startup called WellSaid Labs -- is short and slick. But something is a bit different. While the model you see is a human, the background voice you hear only sounds like one. The Seattle-based company is using voice actors and artificial intelligence to create synthetic voices that sound a heck of a lot like people.