GPT-5's Voice Mode Is Indistinguishable From Human in Blind Tests

Listeners correctly identified AI only 48% of the time—worse than a coin flip. Voice acting may be the next profession to fall.

The Test

Study Design

1,000 participants listened to 60-second audio clips: - 50% human recordings - 50% GPT-5 voice mode - Various topics: news reading, casual conversation, emotional speech

Results

MetricResult Correct AI identification48% Correct human identification52% Random chance50% Difference from chanceNot significant Listeners performed no better than guessing.

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Where AI Excelled

CategoryAI Detection Rate News reading41% (very human-like) Casual chat47% Emotional content51% Technical explanation44% Humor/sarcasm55% (most detectable)

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Voice Actor Reactions

'I've spent 20 years perfecting my craft. Now a computer does it for free. What's the point?'

'The irony is they trained it on our voices without permission. We taught our own replacement.'

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Implications

For Phone Calls

- Every call could be AI - Scam potential increases - 'Press 1 to confirm you're human'

For Media

- Podcasts can be AI-generated - Audiobooks don't need readers - Voice acting becomes optional

For Trust

- How do you verify a voice is real? - Family emergency scams become easier - Authentication methods need updating

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Bottom Line

GPT-5 has passed the audio Turing test. When we can't distinguish AI voices from human ones, the nature of phone communication changes fundamentally.

Trust is now a technology problem.

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