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Callers to Washington state hotline press 2 for Spanish and get accented AI English instead (apnews.com)

submitted 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) by supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

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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!

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[-] axexrx@lemmy.world 13 points 3 hours ago

My friends got a funnier version of this. The local elementary school has a service that translates automated phone messages for parents into any language.

She's bilingual, but her mother only speaks Russian and shes been teaching the kids Russian. So she gets each message, 2x, once in english, and once in Russian. But, whenever the system hits a loan word, or word that is the same in both languages, (superintendent was the word it hit when I was driving with her thw other day)

it gets derailed, and finishes in english with a really over the top Russian accent.

Not the same Russian voice mind you, it switched from a woman speeking fairly fast to a man speaking english slowly and angrily, with a Russian accent, like it was trained off of cold war movie 'Soviets or something.

[-] JackbyDev@programming.dev 4 points 2 hours ago

That's so fucking weird! I wish we could hear a recording. That's amazing.

this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2026

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