Washington State Residents Pressed 2 for Spanish. The Bot Spoke Spanish-Accented English Instead
Summary
A user error with the Amazon Polly text-to-speech system has been identified as the cause of recent issues. This incident highlights the importance of accuracy in AI technology and its impact on user experience.
Key Insights
What caused the Washington DOL phone system to speak English with a Spanish accent when Spanish was selected?
A user error by DOL staff in configuring the Amazon Polly text-to-speech system resulted in the selection of the 'Lucia' voice, which is designed to speak English with a Castilian Spanish accent instead of providing full Spanish speech.
What are bilingual voices in Amazon Polly, and how do they relate to this incident?
Amazon Polly's bilingual voices use SSML tags to apply an accent from one language to speech in another; for example, an English voice like Joanna can speak French words with an American English accent. In this case, the 'Lucia' voice mimicked Castilian Spanish pronunciation for English text, causing the accented English output.