CNN's Donie O'Sullivan tricks parents with AI in hilarious news segment

In a segment on CNN sat alongside a digital forensic expert, Donie called home to see if the AI voice was good enough to fool his parents Noreen and Donal

Donie O'Sullivan became a national treasure of sorts following his work during the riots in Washington DC.

It seems not even a fake voice is enough to stop a Kerry person from chatting about football.

Everyone’s favoruite CNN correspondent, Donie O’Sullivan tricked his parents on television this week as the Kerry native, in an example of how convincing and dangerous AI (Artificial Intelligence) can be, tested out an AI voice that both his mam and dad found hard to tell apart from their son's voice.

In a segment on CNN with a digital forensic expert, Donie called home to see if the AI voice was good enough to trick his parents, highlighting how easy it is to imitate a voice using the technology. Despite Donie’s Irish accent, the AI voice seemed to have done the trick and mimicked his voice pretty well.  

When the journalist called home, his mother Noreen O'Sullivan says hello and has a short conversation with her son, not realising she is talking to a computer. The only difference she notices is a slight delay before she hands the phone over to his dad. 

In his strong Kerry accent, Donal O’Sullivan is none the wiser and has a conversation with his son about his travel plans and of course, Kerry football.

Could an A.I. Donie voice trick my parents?

We found out.

+ an A.I. Anderson Cooper has some things to say about me....

Produced by: @zachwasss pic.twitter.com/BVTGMr3ppA

— Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) March 9, 2023

Donie (well, the AI version) asks if Kerry is playing this weekend and his dad goes on to tell his son about the game. But eventually, Donie has to come clean.

The pair admit they thought something was up and that his voice was a little lower and a bit more “American”.

“It sounded very serious like you had something serious to say. I went oh Jeez, my heart was hopping first,” said Noreen O’Sullivan.

Donie O'Sullivan became a national treasure of sorts following his work during the riots in Washington DC back in January 2021. Originally from Kerry, he has been working with CNN since 2016.