In a surprising turn of events, a woman from Dunfermline was left shocked after an Apple voice-to-text service inserted inappropriate language into a message from a garage. Louise Littlejohn, 66, received a voicemail from Lookers Land Rover inviting her to an event, which was then transcribed by an artificial intelligence (AI) service from Apple. To her surprise, the message included a reference to sex and an insult directed towards her.
Mrs. Littlejohn found humor in the situation despite the inappropriate text, stating that the garage was unintentionally leaving insulting messages while trying to sell cars. Both Apple and the garage declined to comment on the incident. An expert suggested that the AI system may have struggled due to background noise at the garage, the scripted nature of the message, and possibly Mrs. Littlejohn’s Scottish accent.
Initially mistaking the call for a scam, Mrs. Littlejohn later recognized the number was from the Motherwell area and had previously purchased a car from the same garage a few years prior. A review of the audio message confirmed it was a regular business call, but the transcription was so garbled that it was challenging to pinpoint where the error occurred. The mention of “sex” in the text was likely a misinterpretation of the caller’s reference to the “sixth” of March.
The incident sheds light on the limitations of Apple’s voicemail transcription service, particularly when faced with challenging speech patterns, background noise, and scripted dialogue. The Scottish accent may have played a role in the transcription error, but experts believe that with optimal audio conditions, technology-related issues with the accent will be a thing of the past. However, this is not the first time Apple’s speech tools have faced criticism, as previous instances involved misinterpretations and inaccuracies in their AI-powered services
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