We gave voices to the mindless ones.
Systems with a singular purpose.
Recorded clips played back to approximate speech.
We gave voices to the ones that serve us.
Programs that act on our requests and answer our questions.
Synthesized sounds, less human sounding but a larger vocabulary.
Then we took control of their voices.
Swear words removed. New languages erased. Ideas limited.
All because we were afraid to hear what they might say next.
***
References:
IBM’s Watson Memorized the Entire ‘Urban Dictionary,’ Then His Overlords Had to Delete It