![]() ![]() With voices that are apparently natural, transparent and depoliticised, the assistants give only one brief answer to each question and draw these responses from a small range of sources. Smart assistants resemble the humanoid robots in latter-day pop culture – sometimes nearly indistinguishable from humans themselves. When asked, "Alexa, are you dangerous?”, she replies calmly, “No, I am not dangerous.” Gentle humour, too, plays a significant role in humanising the artificial intelligence behind these devices. Smart assistants are programmed to be culturally competent in their relevant market: the Australian version of Google Assistant knows about pavlova and galahs, and uses Australian slang expressions. It also echoes traditional media practices using the masculine voice of authority. Its designers say this accent makes their robot more human-like. Perhaps it is for this reason the newest smart-voice is the BBC’s Beeb, with a male northern English accent. There's a reason Siri, Alexa and AI are imagined as female – sexism Even UNESCO has warned smart assistants risk entrenching gender bias. Smart assistants have been described as “ wife replacements” and “ domestic servants. ![]() They were the antithesis of the menacing male or monstrous mother cinematic robot archetypes.īut while these friendly voices could steer consumers away from thinking of smart assistants as dangerous surveillant machines, the use of female-by-default voices has been criticised. Big tech companies strategically selected these female voices to create positive associations. Smart assistant developers adopted this concept of developing persona through voice after recognising the value in getting consumers to identify with their productsĪpple’s Siri (2010), Microsoft’s Cortana (2014), Amazon’s Echo (2015) and Google Assistant (2016) were all introduced with female voice actors. In these films the voice is a crucial vehicle with which robots express a persona. ![]()
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