You may recall that a couple of months ago the theory was advanced that using a female voice for these electronic assistants reinforced a sexist idea of women as servants, mere handmaidens of the needs of others. I wish I had advanced my theory of a few months before, that some men might not take well to these female know-it-alls telling them what to do. One can even imagine a script of some jerk getting progressively angrier for reasons he does not even see, incrementally annoyed at some woman telling him "Turn left, one-quarter mile." Let's complain about women in subservience. Let's complain about women in authority. Let's use the same anecdotes. Sure. Why not? Everyone else seems to.
Point one: Like myths and fairy tales, there are a variety of interpretations for acres and acres of reality, and it doesn't pay to pick one superficial one to complain about or point to.
Point two: Neither theory has the least bit of objective evidence to support it. It's just hand-waving.
"Point two: Neither theory has the least bit of objective evidence to support it. It's just hand-waving."
ReplyDeleteNo, but some anecdotes. Within a year of the introduction of the Garmin GPS navigation system for automobiles (ca. 2000) the female voice of the device was widely known as "The Bitch".
I haven't used a lot of different devices but I have noticed some subtle changes in the way they suggest changes in direction to correct errors. The early models spat out that annoying 'recalculating' IIRC when you missed a turn, followed by a blunt directive, usually, to make a u turn. More current versions don't announce that you screwed up, and will typically tell you to make a turn at the next intersection and gently guide you back on course. Some of that is undoubtedly better maps and more processing power but I'm sure that less nagging has improved people's opinions of the voice.
ReplyDeleteFor several months, I thought she was saying "Wow, recalculating". I was a little disappointed when I realized it was "route".
ReplyDeleteWRT GPS, because you can adjust what language it is speaking, I have wondered if it would be a good way to prepare for driving in a foreign country, turning on the GPS in French for a month before going to Paris, driving to places you already know. It seems a real-world way of learning a language.
ReplyDeleteMy Romanian sons loved it when we drove back from Parris Island in 2010 using directions in Romanian.
RE: Female Voice
ReplyDeleteDuring late 1960s and 1970s Navy fighters had an emergency message for pilots ready for use when the jet was nearly out of fuel. Should it eventuate that during a flight the plane was nearly out of fuel the pilot would hear a female voice say the following: pilot you have thirty seconds of fuel left, prepare to eject; pilot you have twenty seconds of fuel left, prepare to eject; pilot you have ten seconds of fuel left, eject, eject, eject. The female voice was used because pilots universally were males who would, it was believed, automatically react to a woman's voice even if under stress.
Dan Kurt
@ Dan Kurt - fascinating. I doubt there was data, but it certainly sounds plausible.
ReplyDeleteNow that there are more female pilots, I wonder if they would respond better to male of female voices in an emergency. It's exactly the sort of situation where we should be justified in saying "Ignore your social preferences for the moment. We're trying to save lives here."
I believe that one reason for the original use of female voices for warning systems was that just about all pilots and air traffic controllers were male at the time, hence, the warning would be more likely to be noticed over the background chatter.
ReplyDeleteToday, I'd guess that at least 20% of controllers are female. Somewhat smaller % for pilots, but nontrivial.
For at least some versions of the Garmin aviation GPS product line, male or female voice for callouts is an installation option chosen by the customer.
Well, I ask, "WHY would anyone DELIBERATELY hire one's own in-home Stasi agent?"
ReplyDeleteHmm. I'll have to ask my Romanian sons, particularly the one who goes back to Romania every year, whether Alexa sells well there.
ReplyDeleteWell, as the late Brother Dave Gardner used to say, "It's all in how you look at it and study it." Alexa is an informer.
ReplyDelete