brianusa Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 Have we gone too far? From the Beeb: "A group of linguists, technologists and sound designers are experimenting with a genderless digital voice, made from real voices and called Q" . How much further do we have to go to neuter the whole population? A woman's voice is much more easy to understand than the basso male and what this has to do with gender discrimination is ridiculous as is most of this movement. Brian 1 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classsix T Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 Jeez Bri' don't tell the Qanon tinfoil headgear fitted loons, they'll have a flat field day. C6T. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Sidecar Racer Posted May 21, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 21, 2019 Blame the UN. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-48349102 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted May 22, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 22, 2019 1 hour ago, Sidecar Racer said: Blame the UN. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-48349102 Surely it more of a EU/Brexit issue? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckymucklebackit Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 13 hours ago, brianusa said: Have we gone too far? From the Beeb: "A group of linguists, technologists and sound designers are experimenting with a genderless digital voice, made from real voices and called Q" . How much further do we have to go to neuter the whole population? A woman's voice is much more easy to understand than the basso male and what this has to do with gender discrimination is ridiculous as is most of this movement. Brian Wait a minute - I thought this was Q, nasty piece of work too... 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted May 22, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 22, 2019 22 minutes ago, luckymucklebackit said: Wait a minute - I thought this was Q, nasty piece of work too... Actually I quite like Q, he introduces the various Captains to all sorts of potential threats to the Federation, in advance. Sure he's a PITA as to his methods. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium TheQ Posted May 22, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 22, 2019 Oi.... Leave me out of this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2 1 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Sidecar Racer Posted May 22, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 22, 2019 9 hours ago, kevinlms said: Surely it more of a EU/Brexit issue? Don't see the reasoning for that remark . It clearly says UN , and complaining about gender bias . 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted May 22, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 22, 2019 26 minutes ago, Sidecar Racer said: Don't see the reasoning for that remark . It clearly says UN , and complaining about gender bias . It occured to me that Britain is more concerned about crazy reports and regulations coming from EU, hence some Britons wanting to leave the EU. I think a 'no gender' voice, is ridiculous. But I'd better not say more, otherwise I'll be crossing the 'no politics' rule - again! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alastairq Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 C3PO? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprintex Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 17 hours ago, brianusa said: Have we gone too far? Yes. A long time ago, long before this AI thing. Paul 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 (edited) The debate about what an artificial voice should sound like is arguably older than voice synthesis itself. The best pop culture reference is the voice of the HAL 9000 (with Douglas Rain's very precise diction) but we had SciFi 'robot' voices long before that - think Robby from "Forbidden Planet". We can all agree that as much as we might admire the late Stephen Hawking, we wouldn't want to listen to a synthetic voice that sounded like his voice synthesizer. A synthetic voice is different to the vocabulary of existing Satnavs which largely consists of pre-recorded phrases and place-names. There is a school of thought that synthetic voices shouldn't sound precisely realistic. Apple made Siri sound deliberately 'altered' (or at least that's how they marketed Siri). (Perhaps it's possible that the slightly strange sounding Siri was the best they could do at the time and they put lipstick on a pig. I have no way of knowing.) The idea of creating an androgynous voice fits in with this line of thinking - with the added advantage of not perpetuating the 'feminine as servant' motif. It's not just phones or Amazon Alexa either. Voice activated systems are in production in automobiles - "Hey BMW" etc. Like it or not they will soon be everywhere - vending machines (or really any ordering point for literally anything, including telesales, fast food, the telephone handling system at your bank, insurer, whatever). We're going to be listening to these devices (whether we want to or not). The idea of what they will sound like is culturally relevant. Perhaps the answer will be that people can choose the 'personality' they prefer. (I'm feeling some HHGTTG references coming on ... "Now with Genuine People Personality" and "Share and enjoy". Edited May 22, 2019 by Ozexpatriate 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Reorte Posted May 22, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 22, 2019 4 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said: We're going to be listening to these devices (whether we want to or not). The idea of what they will sound like is culturally relevant. From a cultural point of view a culture that claims to have got past issues such as "woman as servant" still has issues if it cares what the voice sounds like. From a practical point of view it's already been pointed out that female-sounding voices are often easier to hear clearly. There's also an aesthetic point of view, just what do people prefer hearing? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 2 minutes ago, Reorte said: ... a culture that claims to have got past issues such as "woman as servant" Have we? I think that is the point. I do think that for the appliances we own, alternative 'voices' will be offered - much like they are for Satnavs in multiple languages. I can see institutions like a bank or the government choosing a neutral voice. Again Douglas Adams is wickedly prescient here. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 5 minutes ago, Reorte said: female-sounding voices are often easier to hear clearly Compared with Douglas Rain in 2001, A Space Odyssey? I don't think that is true. I'd be interested in seeing research results. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 When the bank wants my money to settle the credit card account, they use an authoritative male voice... 4 minutes ago, Reorte said: ...There's also an aesthetic point of view, just what do people prefer hearing? A good voice production, well paced and modulated. And there's a lot to be said for a form of 'Received Pronunciation' and a defined vocabulary for messages that may be heard by any user of the language, and need to be quickly comprehended, especially against competing intruding noise. But not quite going as far as Seaspeak... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Reorte Posted May 22, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 22, 2019 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said: Have we? I think that is the point. Clearly we haven't, and I regard this sort of thing as a clear indication of that, and thus a little depressing, particularly since it sounds like that's the motive. Progress on this front isn't about remove difference - or "embracing" it (whatever that means if it's not just about liking variety), it's about not caring about it, so I just end up regarding trying to find an androgynous voice as a sign someone is still looking at the world with that them vs us outlook. Quote Compared with Douglas Rain in 2001, A Space Odyssey? I don't think that is true. I'd be interested in seeing research results. On average, maybe. I was just repeating something from upthread that sounded plausible (no play with "sounded" please!). I agree it would be interesting to see results. Quote Again Douglas Adams is wickedly prescient here. Is the money on Amazon or Google or Apple to rename themselves to Sirius Cybernetics? Edited May 22, 2019 by Reorte 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classsix T Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 (edited) 27 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said: The debate about what an artificial voice should sound like is arguably older than voice synthesis itself. The best pop culture reference is the voice of the HAL 9000 (with Douglas Rain's very precise diction) but we had SciFi 'robot' voices long before that - think Robby from "Forbidden Planet". HAL's speech is certainly a go-to reference for an AI/human interface. Some year's on though and pertinent to the discussion was "Joshua" in War Games. Now that was a proprietary available squawk box. But the voice and interplay between Joshua and humanity was chilling. As well as being piercing satire on the futility of nuclear warfare, natch. A film I haven’t seen for some years is 2001's sequel, 2010. I seem to recall they reboot HAL and find out 'he' was lied to, a concept his logic couldn't comprehend? C6T. Edited May 22, 2019 by Classsix T 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisr40 Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 All AI should be voiced by Brian Blessed. Imagine the fun. 4 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classsix T Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 Reorte will know what I'm on about but isn't the tech already installed that in a consumer society, can we not specify which voice we'd like in the first place, and give "resting between jobs" thesp's some additional income to boot? Female choice: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Hillis Male choice: https://www.eliastoufexis.com/ Though I'm aware we're specifically talking about generated speech and not sampled or stitched phrases, perhaps that technology is still some time away. C6T. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprintex Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said: Voice activated systems are in production in automobiles - "Hey BMW" etc. Like it or not they will soon be everywhere - vending machines (or really any ordering point for literally anything, including telesales, fast food, the telephone handling system at your bank, insurer, whatever). I can assure you I won't be talking to any machine - if it ain't got a button or switch to work it then it ain't getting operated !! I avoid speaking as much as possible as it is unless absolutely necessary, one of my Aspie traits, I don't feel the need to communicate verbally but have to sometimes unfortunately. Paul 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classsix T Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 6 minutes ago, Sprintex said: I can assure you I won't be talking to any machine - if it ain't got a button or switch to work it then it ain't getting operated !! I avoid speaking as much as possible as it is unless absolutely necessary, one of my Aspie traits, I don't feel the need to communicate verbally but have to sometimes unfortunately. Paul That's a fascinating viewpoint Paul, whilst I respect your pov, I'm of the opinion language (and communication) itself is a marvellous thing and is possibly unique to us as a species separating us from our faeces flinging cousins that don't have the benefit of opposable thumbs. International foreign policy however suggests, we aren't that far removed from still picking fleas off those we hold dear...sigh. I do get hully riled at being informed there's an unknown item in the bagging area though. C6T. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium TheQ Posted May 22, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 22, 2019 If those gadgets had come out with only men's voices they would have been complaining that women were being ignored.. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLWP Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 49 minutes ago, Chrisr40 said: All AI should be voiced by Brian Blessed. Imagine the fun. Noddy Holder 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 (edited) 46 minutes ago, Sprintex said: I don't feel the need to communicate verbally but have to sometimes unfortunately. The good news there is that there are many non-vocal web interfaces which do not require a voice component. Vocal interfaces offer a 'hands-free' approach which is convenient and natural for most people, and important in safety critical applications. Eye and gesture movement tracking can offer 'hands-free' capabilities that are non vocal. Edited May 22, 2019 by Ozexpatriate 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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