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https://theconversation.com/we-gotta-act-white-how-voice-recognition-tech-fails-for-aboriginal-english-speakers-270983>
“I asked it to call one of my sisters, and it then started calling an old
boss that I don’t talk to any more.”
—Amy, 25, recalling an awkward experience using a voice-operated device.
"Using voice to operate technologies is increasingly convenient in daily life,
whether at home or while driving.
More and more phones, televisions, smart speakers, and cars are embedded with
automated speech-recognition technologies that transcribe speech into written
words. These technologies enable the devices to understand what songs we want
to listen to, where we want to drive, and whom we want to message.
For many Indigenous people in Australia, however, voice-operated technologies
can be a constant source of frustration, and occasional anger.
Imagine having to change the way you speak just to ask your phone to play music
or call a family member. This is the daily reality for many Indigenous people
who speak Aboriginal English.
This variety of English is spoken by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people in Australia, and is the first and only language used by many Aboriginal
children.
Our recent Indigenous-led interviews with Aboriginal English speakers have
found that when Indigenous people try to use voice-operated consumer technology
products, the technologies often fail for their variety of English. Our results
have been presented at the PULiiMA Language and Technology Conference 2025.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander interviewees reported more than just
frustration or anger: they said they felt excluded from the benefits of
technology. Many explained that the technology only works well for “white
people”. As a result, they feel significant pressure to switch to speaking
“whitefella way” to use the technology."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
