Why Siri, Alexa, & Every Other AI Voice Has Been Feminine

[kestrell]

Kes: I like that this article by Motherboard gets into the larger implications of how this affects women in technology, but I'm always surprised that no one ever comments that these voices are not just feminine, they are ultra-feminine, and sometimes, such as the voice for the elevator that was in the hotel where WisCon used to be hosted, even sounded like a Stepford wife on valium, wich really creeped me out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBlPxpaum6U

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

Latest iOS offers Siri 1-4 in US where I perceive the differences as pitch, not gender.

[cvirtue]

I have mine set to male, which often disturbs people.
I think this is good for them.

[kestrell]

My first computer had the giank hardware synthesizer, and I still miss those original voices: I set the voice to a pitch that sounded like Word an once, when the tech guys who had first set it up had it back in the shop for some troublehooting, they accidentally set the volume to 11 and scared the hell out of themselves when this voice came blasting out at them.