Just a little while ago we thought the voice of Apple’s Siri had finally been revealed, only to be told by the voice actor in question that was false. Now a new contender has entered the ring saying yes, she is Siri. Experts have weighed in to help confirm.
CNN released an article saying Susan Bennett is most likely the voice of Siri. They write, “Apple won’t confirm it. But Bennett says she is Siri. Professionals who know her voice, have worked with her and represent her legally say she is Siri. And an audio-forensics expert with 30 years of experience has studied both voices and says he is “100%” certain the two are the same.
The Atlanta, Georgia resident has been doing voices professionally since the 70s but it was the mistaken identity story we and many other sites ran that pushed Bennett into finally coming clean.
“I really had to weigh the importance of it for me personally. I wasn’t sure that I wanted that notoriety, and I also wasn’t sure where I stood legally. And so, consequently, I was very conservative about it for a long time,” she told CNN. “And then this Verge video came out … And it seemed like everyone was clamoring to find out who the real voice behind Siri is, and so I thought, well, you know, what the heck? This is the time.”
The strange thing is, Bennett didn’t know her work would be used for Siri. For her, it was just another voice gig, one that comes with the usual ups and downs. “There are some people that just can read hour upon hour upon hour, and it’s not a problem. For me, I get extremely bored,” she said. “So I just take breaks. That’s one of the reasons why Siri might sometimes sound like she has a bit of an attitude [laughs]. Those sounds might have been recorded the last 15 minutes of those four hours.”
Take a listen to Bennett yourself in this video CNN put together and hear a bit more of her story (also be sure to read the full article at CNN for more interesting tidbits).
I’m still not sure why Apple feels the need to shroud Siri in such secrecy but unless they change their tune, this is the best confirmation we’re likely to ever get.
(via Geekosystem)
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