Siri now has a gender-neutral speech option in the latest OS release

Apple has created a new Siri voice that doesn’t sound plainly masculine or female, and it’s currently accessible in the beta versions of its iOS 15.4 software. The tech giant has taken another step away from the accusation that digital assistants have traditionally reinforced unjust gender stereotypes by introducing a gender-neutral voice.

Why The Change

Industry analysts and experts have argued for years that the advent of voice assistants with female-sounding names — such as Alexa, Siri, and Cortana — who also speak with female-sounding voices, signaled that women should be the ones to do your bidding at any time and even take your abuse. Data shared by a United Nations survey also singled out female voiced-assistants for their meek, flirtatious, and coy demeanors.

Equally troubling, the choice to make so many virtual assistants female by default was most certainly influenced by a lack of diversity within the teams responsible for developing our everyday technology. This problem not only leads to rash decisions with AI voices, but it also stalls the development of important technologies for women. Apple, for example, waited years to understand that its Health app should definitely include a period-tracking tool, despite the fact that it’s a health metric that affects about half of the world’s population.

Apple, to its credit, addressed concerns about Siri’s voice last year with an update that incorporated more varied voices and, importantly, changed Siri’s default gender.

Wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t have to worry about your AI voice assistant’s gender at all?

Though Apple hasn’t stated anything officially, this is certainly the objective with the inclusion of the new and now fifth Siri voice. The coding of Apple’s iOS software, on the other hand, gives some indications of what the company is thinking.

Gender-Neutral Siri

Developer Steve Mosser discovered a reference to a gender-neutral Siri voice in earlier versions of the iOS 15.4 beta, and this week he observed that the fifth American Siri voice, with the filename “Quinn,” was introduced to Beta 4.

Quinn is a well-known gender-neutral name with Irish origins that has been used for both boys and girls over the years. It’s no surprise that it’s also the name of the next Siri voice.

You could hear Quinn’s voice and pick if it sounds more feminine or masculine to you. Your interpretation may shift to fit your thoughts if you set your mind to hear it one way or the other. Furthermore, the new voice has a gender-neutral tone without reverting to a more robotic cadence. The voice retains its human quality, with the same natural inflections and seamless transitions as previous Siri voices, both new and old.

Wrapping Up

Apple hasn’t just concentrated on Siri’s voice when it comes to inclusivity, but also on what the digital assistant says. Apple has included Siri’s replies regarding Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate during the last several years, as well as forceful responses to abusive gender or sexuality-based comments. Speak Screen, Dictation, and Voice Control are among Apple’s more accessible voice functions.

With iOS 15.4, which is slated to release in March, English speakers will be able to use the new voice option.