There are a variety of voice options for users to choose from when it comes to Siri. These voices also vary from language to language, and it seems that in the case of the Hebrew version of Siri, the voice actress behind the voice, Galit Gura-Eini, is suing Apple for using her voice without her permission, which apparently has made her say undesirable things.
Now you might be wondering how could Apple use her voice without her permission when she was the one whose voice was recorded? As it turns out, Gura-Eini actually recorded her voice for Nuance back in 2007 where she gave her permission for her voice to be used for what she calls “legitimate” purposes.
Apple claims to have obtained the rights to Gura-Eini’s recordings from Nuance, which is how they managed to get Gura-Eini’s voice for Siri. For those unfamiliar with how Siri (and presumably other digital assistants) pronounces things, syllables taken from the recordings are joined through an algorithm to help form complete words and sentences. This is also Apple’s defense in the lawsuit, claiming that Gura-Eini’s is “nothing but syllables joined together by an algorithm”.
Gura-Eini claims to have asked Apple to remove her voice from Siri but has had her request denied. It seems that people have been making “her” say violent, racist, and sexual things. Her lawsuit also argues that her voice is “widely identified and associated” with her live persona, which we imagine could potentially confuse some into thinking that it is actually her who is saying these things. Gura-Eini is asking for about $66,000 in damages.