Zubeen Garg’s voice to be digitally preserved to prevent tampering, unauthorised use

Singer-composer Manas Robin, a long-time associate of Zubeen, said such digital preservation will ensure that his voice is not distorted or misused through AI-enabled or other technologies.

As Assam mourns the death of its ‘heartthrob’ Zubeen Garg, people close to the singer have begun work to digitally preserve his voice to prevent unauthorised use or tampering in the future.

Singer-composer Manas Robin, a long-time associate of Zubeen, said such digital preservation will ensure that his voice is not distorted or misused through AI-enabled or other technologies. "With technology making massive strides, especially with AI-generated software, it is very much possible that Zubeen’s voice samples taken from the internet could be used by other singers/ performers as their own in the future,” Manas told PTI at Sarusajai stadium as he joined lakhs in paying homage to Garg on Monday.

"We will work on preserving Zubeen’s voice digitally and creating such a ‘digital signature’ that the moment his vocals are played, its origin can be detected,” he said. Zubeen (52) had died while swimming in the sea in Singapore on Friday. His mortal remains had reached Guwahati on Sunday. His last rites will be performed with state honours on the outskirts of the city on Tuesday.

Explaining the concept behind it, he said, "If a person’s face is super-imposed on the body of another person digitally, it can be detected. Similarly, systems are being developed where the origin of a voice can be traced to its digitally preserved version of the original person or singer.” Manas, who is also a director and known for his folk songs, especially Bihu numbers, said Zubeen's songs have already been archived, with the singer himself inaugurating one such archive days before his death.

"Digital preservation of Zubeen’s work is already underway through his YouTube channel and other internet platforms. We also want to put a ‘digital signature’ to his voice so that no one can pass it off as their own in today’s world of AI-generated audios and videos,” he said.

"It will also ensure that no one can tamper with Zubeen’s voice,” he added. Manas said the death of Zubeen has led people to ‘rediscover’ his songs and creations, not just in the state but globally. "This outpouring of spontaneous grief, this gathering of lakhs of people to pay their respects has made the world sit up and take note of what Zubeen Garg meant for Assam and why,” he said.

The comfort with which Zubeen sang in high octave can be matched by only a few singers worldwide, Manas maintained. “Singers sing in high octave, but the pressure it puts on their voice can be detected. But with Zubeen, it came naturally,” he added.