How We Created a Sidecar Sync Podcast Episode Using Only Artificial Intelligence

In a unique experiment just before Thanksgiving 2024, the Sidecar Sync podcast took an innovative approach to content creation. When host Amith Nagarajan was under the weather, instead of canceling the episode, he turned to artificial intelligence to create an entire podcast episode. The result? A fascinating demonstration of how AI tools can be combined to create engaging content while still maintaining human oversight and quality control.

The Three-Step Process

Step 1: Creating the Script with ChatGPT

Everything starts with a good script. Amith turned to ChatGPT to generate a complete podcast script focused on audio technology and AI developments. But AI-generated content isn't perfect out of the box - he refined the script in a word processor to ensure it matched the podcast's usual tone and style.

Step 2: Generating the Voice with Elevenlabs

Next up? Converting text to speech, but not just any robotic voice. Amith chose Elevenlabs, a leading voice synthesis platform, and got creative with the settings:

• Found the perfect voice to connect with the audience
• Tweaked the "exaggeration" settings to inject some personality
• Cleverly used text formatting (ellipses and commas) to create natural-sounding pauses
• Fine-tuned the pacing until it felt like a real conversation

Step 3: Creating the Visual Element with HeyGen

What's a video podcast without video? Here's where HeyGen came into play:

• Picked just the right avatar from their professional actor library
• Matched the generated audio perfectly with the avatar's movements
• Polished the visual presentation to meet Sidecar's high standards

The Human Element Remains Critical

Sure, this episode was built with AI tools - but don't underestimate the human touch behind it all. Amith spent about an hour orchestrating the different AI systems, making tweaks, and ensuring everything met Sidecar's quality standards. What did that involve?

• Carefully choosing the right topic and content direction
• Giving the AI script that essential human polish
• Getting the voice to sound just right
• Quality checking every single element
• Being upfront about the AI nature of the content

What Did We Learn?

This experiment revealed some fascinating insights about AI content creation today:

1. Tool Integration: Mix and match AI tools? Absolutely. The combination can create something pretty special.
2. Time Efficiency: Once you know your way around these tools, you could knock this out in about 15 minutes
3. Quality Control: Human judgment is still irreplaceable for maintaining those high standards
4. Audience Reception: Here's the kicker - many viewers couldn't even tell they were watching an AI host

Looking Ahead

What does this tell us? AI tools are incredibly powerful, but they shine brightest with human guidance and creativity. As Amith points out, even if AI capabilities freeze today, we're still looking at years of progress and innovations being built on what we already have. The future? Think less about AI replacement and more about AI enhancement of human capabilities.

Interested in trying this yourself? Amith's advice is clear: start small with these tools and work your way up. The key isn't just using AI - it's using it transparently and thoughtfully to create real value for your audience.

Ready to dive deeper into AI for your association? Click here to explore our AI Learning Hub and discover how you can put these technologies to work in your organization.