For months, callers to the Washington state Department of Licensing who have requested automated service in Spanish have instead heard an AI voice speaking English in a strong Spanish accent. The agency has since apologized and says it’s trying to fix the problem.
AI is putting threatening to put The Onion out of business, not because The Onion articles can be written by AI, rather AI has just made this kind of satire nearly obsolete. The Onion is forced to retreat into existential screaming into the void humor, which they have done magnificently in the face of an unstoppable foe. The Onion will prevail and outlive AI though, mark my words!
Many years ago when t-mobile first debuted their “visual voicemail” that did automated transcription, my dad brought me his phone and wanted to know what the hell has happened with one of his messages. It said something like “Parrot vegan spaniel primo wavy.” I showed him that he could still press a button to listen to the actual message, and it was from Walgreens; the computer had been trying to transcribe the Spanish voice saying “para diga en Espanol, oprima nueve.”