Artificial intelligence (AI) has been making remarkable progress in recent years, and one of its latest advancements is the ability to reproduce someone else's voice with remarkable accuracy. While this technology has many positive applications, such as making it easier for people with speech impediments to communicate, it also has the potential to be used maliciously.

One of the most concerning ways this technology can be exploited is by scammers who use it to trick people into thinking they are someone else. For example, recently a scammer reproduced the voice of a family member and called other family members, pretending to be in trouble and asking for money. The victim, thinking they were helping their loved one, sent money to the scammer.

At the root of this problem is the fact that the reproduced voice sounds so much like the real thing. It is difficult for the victim to discern whether they are speaking to their loved one or an imposter. This phenomenon can be used as a metaphor for our internal critic, which can often sound exactly like our own voice.

Our internal critic is the voice inside our head that tells us we are not good enough, not smart enough, or not worthy. This voice can be so convincing that we believe it is our own. However, the truth is that this voice is often the result of someone else's influence. It can be a parent, who expected too much; a teacher who wasn’t encouraging enough; or a friend who struggled with their own self-esteem and chose to put others down in order to feel better about themselves. When we become convinced that an external voice is our own, we are in a lot of trouble. When someone we care about makes a request, it is because of their care and love for us that we take it seriously and try to satisfy that request. However, when that same request is asked by someone we do not know, we are much less inclined to take it seriously. When someone can pretend they are someone who we know cares about us, but actually are an impostor, we are in trouble.

Similarly, when we believe the voice in our head is our authentic self, only there to help us, we face a challenge. If it is the voice of another, presenting itself as our own, we may find ourselves believing some very unhelpful things, having to trust this thought, without ever considering there may be an alternative way of thinking.

How can we silence the internal critic?

The first step in silencing the internal critic is to recognize that it is not our own voice. We must identify the source of the voice and understand why it is present. When we no longer see it as authentically us, we can begin to give it less head space. 

I often share a video with Clients. It’s a Jimmy Kimmel bit where Celebrities read mean tweets that were shared about them. They are often so vulgar and nasty that I am embarrassed for the human race! However, without fail the Celebrities read these words in a completely detached and unemotional way. If any of these celebrities believed this trash their day, and possibly week, would be ruined. But because they are seeing this as originating from outside of themselves, they can keep a healthy distance, to where it becomes funny.

If we can notice the unhelpful thoughts that we have about ourselves, and before committing to them, ask ourselves if that is our authentic voice, we can save ourselves lots of heartache. The more we can trace the critical voice to something outside of us, the calmer we can be and the more flexible we can be about choosing whether or not we want that comment to influence us.