Discover how to build powerful AI agents that integrate with your personal communication, as Luke Harris, Head of Growth at ElevenLabs, shares his journey and groundbreaking projects. Luke, a true tinkerer, reveals how he built the most popular WhatsApp MTP server and an ingenious iPhone shortcut for superior voice transcription.

What you’ll learn:

• The surprising gap in consumer AI and how to build solutions for it.

• Practical insights into building secure AI agent systems and managing data privacy.

• How ElevenLabs’ new speech-to-text (Scribe) and conversational AI APIs enable advanced voice agents.

• The importance of launching personal projects and the unexpected opportunities they create.

• Emerging growth areas for AI in education and niche industries.

Luke Harris leads growth at ElevenLabs, a leading company in generative voice AI. With a background spanning software engineering, biotech ML, and entrepreneurship, Luke is a prolific builder and a Y Combinator alum.

Key topics covered:

• Building the WhatsApp MTP server and its technical challenges.

• The power of Apple Shortcuts for AI-powered mobile workflows.

• ElevenLabs’ Scribe model for highly accurate speech-to-text and diarization.

• Designing conversational AI agents with low latency and emotional expressiveness.

• AI-first workflows for product development, content creation, and sales intelligence.

This episode of AI Tinkerers One-Shot goes deep under the hood with a builder at the forefront of voice AI.

💡 Resources:

• ElevenLabs - https://elevenlabs.io

• Luke Harris’s Blog - https://harrys.co

• Luke Harris’s LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/luke-harris-ai

• AI Tinkerers - https://aitinkerers.org

• One-Shot Podcast - https://aitinkerers.org/podcast

👍 Like this video if you found it valuable, and subscribe to AI Tinkerers One-Shot for more conversations with innovators building the future of AI!

00:00 Introduction to Luke Harris

00:01:51 Luke’s Background and Growth at ElevenLabs

00:04:59 The WhatsApp MTP Server Project

00:11:17 Data Privacy and Security in AI Agents

00:16:15 Automation vs. Human-in-the-Loop

00:27:17 ElevenLabs Speech-to-Text and iPhone Shortcut

00:31:34 ElevenLabs Scribe: Advanced Transcription Features

00:35:03 Conversational AI and Voice Agents

00:44:08 Building Voice Agents with ElevenLabs

00:51:41 Unexpected Growth Drivers for Voice AI

01:00:15 Luke’s AI-First Workflow and Resources

01:05:22 Keeping Up with AI & AI Tinkerers Community