About this episode
The episode explores the outdated robotic voices used for BART train announcements and the listener's curiosity about their clarity in a tech-savvy region.
When BART trains pull into stations, a robotic and antiquated-sounding voice announces its arrival and destination. Bay Curious listener Jimmy Tobin has long been baffled by these voices. They're hard to understand, he says, and why is it that in the cities pioneering AI and synthesized speech models our own trains are nearly unintelligible? Additional Resources: In a Tech Hub Like the Bay Area, Why Do BART Announcements Sound So Ancient? Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Got a question you want answered? Ask! Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Ana De Almeida Amaral. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: Olivia Allen-Price
Topics covered
- society
- technology
- transportation
- culture
- history
Keywords
- BART announcements
- robotic voice
- AI
- synthesized speech
- train stations
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Bay Curious
Places: the Bay Area
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