WSJ Tech News Briefing · Friday, September 18, 2026
New research indicates that generative AI tools can now replicate specific regional accents using as little as 10 seconds of audio. This advancement raises security concerns, as a familiar-sounding voice can lower people's defenses, making them more susceptible to scams. Experts suggest focusing on the content of the message rather than the voice itself.
“New research shows that generative AI tools can now mimic distinct regional accents, using as little as 10 seconds of audio scraped from social media, podcasts, and other online sources.”
“So when we hear something that sounds familiar, we just assume that it's real. Especially if we have a super specific accent. I spoke to this guy in Scotland. He had 150 people participate in this study and he told them, you're going to listen to these sentences and tell me if they're AI or if they're human. And they thought overwhelmingly, they really thought that it was human when it sounded Scottish.”
“I mean, unfortunately, I think it means that the risk of falling for scams more. They can just scale these things up and test them really quickly.”