Iconic Cyberpunk Anime “serial experiments lain” releases interactive “AI Lain” chatbot featuring CoeFont’s digital voice

CoeFont
3 min readSep 5, 2023

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Eight computer screens, six of which display pictures of a girl with dark hair and brown eyes, illuminate a black desk that they surround.

CoeFont Co., Ltd., announced that it has provided the digital voice of “AI lain”, a new interactive AI-powered chatbot created by Anique Inc. This service will be available in English and Japanese from 12:00 pm on September 5th (Japan time), allowing users to enjoy real-time conversations with the main character, Lain Iwakura. September 5th, 2023, 9:00 JST

Japanese AI voice platform, CoeFont, has teamed up with cult anime serial experiments lain to give voice to their AI-powered chatbot released to celebrate the anime’s 25th anniversary. The project, spearheaded by the anime’s original producer, Yayusuke Ueda, enables fans to interact with the anime’s protagonist, Lain Iwakura, through direct conversation. The AI-based Lain will also remember conversations with paying users to provide a more personalized experience. However, it is CoeFont’s pitch-perfect reproduction of Lain’s voice, based on Kaori Shimizu’s 1998 recordings, that immerses the user in the futuristic world of the anime providing a truly unique experience. CoeFont was honored to have Kaori’s blessing to recreate her younger voice.

“After 25 years since the creation of Lain, being involved in bringing her back to the world filled me with immense joy. To think that an AI has learned to reproduce my voice from 25 years ago gives me goosebumps! From the beginning, rather than acting in the role of Lain, I’ve always felt almost as if Lain simply borrowed my natural voice at the time. So, if I’m asked now to do Lain’s voice again, it’s true that I can replicate it, but I can’t become Lain again. That’s how different Lain really is from other roles I’ve played until now, and I’m delighted that Lain is continuously evolving. I’m curious how people new to Lain will feel as they delve into her world, and I sincerely hope that individuals from various generations and different countries will have the opportunity to experience the resurrected Lain in the modern era, brought to life through technology.” — Kaori Shimizu

Apart from reproducing Lain’s voice, CoeFont has also been working on a cross-lingual text-to-speech application. This application enables people to communicate in different languages with digital voices. As a result, overseas users will also be able to hear and converse with Lain in English as well as Japanese.

About AI lain
AI lain is an interactive application that allows users to video call Lain, voiced by CoeFont’s digital voice. Initially, Lain may come across as distant, but she will gradually become more interactive as she gets to know the user. AI Lain’s base personality was pre-programmed, but she was designed to evolve over a six-month period based on user feedback and input from the show’s biggest fans.

About ANIQUE
Anique is a Tokyo-based company focused on empowering Japanese manga/anime IPs by providing fans with new entertainment experiences by holding digital anime exhibitions, producing exclusive goods, and creating unique digital collectibles. Anique has a track record with more than 20 major content holders in Japan. For more information visit: https://anique.jp/

About CoeFont., Ltd
CoeFont( https://CoeFont.cloud ), an innovative AI Voice Platform using the latest AI technology to convert voices into expressive, easy-to-use digital voices which can be used with Text-To-Speech, Voice Changer, and Cross-Lingual TTS. The CoeFont platform provides immediate access to our Voice Hub with over 10,000 diverse digital voices. Whether for training sessions, internal announcements, audiobooks, promotional content, or live during meetings or streaming, these voices are always ready to bring your ideas to life.

About CoeFont
Established in 2020, CoeFont Co., Ltd., registered at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, develops and provides AI-based services. The company is currently focused on AI-based speech synthesis and is developing an ethical and inclusive AI voice platform. CoeFont ( https://CoeFont.cloud), is available in all countries and regions.

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