Susan Bennett, the voice that ‘brought to life’ Siri: People must not forget to use their brains

Smartphone users, voice assistants, and other digital services and applications should not forget their humanity and use their brains to solve problems, Susan Bennett, the owner of the most recognizable voice of the digital personal assistant Siri, told Hina in an interview.

She made this statement ahead of her arrival in Croatia for the Communication Days in Rovinj from April 12 to 15.

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The national festival of market communication, Communication Days in Rovinj, is expected to gather more than last year’s 2,500 participants, including some of the most famous and influential figures from the world of marketing, advertising, and communication, according to the organizers, the Croatian Professional Association for Market Communication-HURA and the Interactive Advertising Bureau IAB Croatia.

As she comes to Croatia with the support of the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ), the director of its Main Office, Kristjan Staničić, told Hina that he believes Bennett’s stay in Croatia will further contribute to the promotion and positioning of Croatia as an attractive and interesting destination, as well as motivate some new guests to visit Croatia.

“The strength of the Croatian tourist brand is constantly growing, and our promotional activities and campaigns are characterized by originality, innovation, and creativity. In this context, it is extremely pleasing that we can host Susan Bennett in Croatia, the owner of the globally recognizable voice of the digital assistant Siri,” Staničić said.

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The organizers announce Bennett as “iPhone’s Siri,” as she is the one who ‘brought to life’ Siri, Apple’s application, which was among the first in the world to use artificial intelligence to provide intelligent personal digital assistance to iPhone users and other Apple devices, capable of sending messages, making calls, checking calendars, and many other ‘tasks’, or simply conversing in English and answering various user questions, which does not mean it can answer every question. Siri is actually a Nordic word that means “an attractive woman who leads to victory.”

Croatia, a wonderful country

Siri is available in over 20 languages in more than 35 countries worldwide, and although it does not understand or speak Croatian, as the Croatian language is (not yet) on the list of languages for that application, Bennett emphasizes in her conversation with Hina that she and her husband are very excited about their first visit to Croatia and Rovinj, especially since they have heard only, as she says, wonderful stories about this country from several people who have been there.

“We have traveled a lot around the world, and from what we see on YouTube, Croatia is receiving great attention and promotion for its tourism, and even the famous travel consultant Rick Steves marks it as one of the most interesting and beautiful tourist destinations in Europe! I watched his video, and the whole country looked absolutely beautiful to me, especially Rovinj, where the festival I am coming to will be held. Therefore, I am excited to see that landscape, but I am also interested in cultural and historical areas, such as the old Rovinj core and others,” Bennett points out.

Accidentally Siri

Noting that the way she became the original voice of that ‘artificial’ personal assistant is actually a mystery to her, and that she does not know who exactly chose her, Bennett says that she accidentally became Siri and that it often happens in this digital age that actors and other ‘readers’ are at some audition without their knowledge, meaning that someone hears them somewhere, likes their voice, and chooses them.

And there were many opportunities to hear her voice, as she says she also engages in singing, has a band with her husband, and has lent her voice for many campaigns, contributions for various companies, and successful films, such as “Mission Impossible 4” or “The Lego Batman Movie.”

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“I assume my voice was chosen because it is pleasant enough, clear, and articulate, and my voice is my only contribution to Siri, as I have no connection to Siri’s actual responses. The recordings I made with thousands of sentences and phrases one summer in 2005 became the basic vocabulary for Siri, and the programmers reshaped that into Siri’s responses, merging those recordings into different words, sentences, and items used in Siri’s voice,” Bennett reveals, adding that she has never worked for Apple, but for a company called IVR, which is now called Nuance, and she had a contract with them.

She recorded sentences and phrases for hours almost daily for a month in the summer of 2005, and the original Siri was introduced to the world at the end of 2011, without her even knowing it would be with her voice, which was revealed to her by a friend who recognized her voice when Siri had already ‘launched’.

Besides her voice, Siri has many other voices in other languages, but Bennett says that her original Siri English voice is recognized worldwide.

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“There are many other voices of Siri that speak in numerous other languages, but I do not know many of those people, except for Jon Briggs, who was the original voice of Apple in England, named Daniel, and the Australian Siri, whose voice was given by Karen Jacobsen,” says Bennett, who, when asked what she thinks about the increasing use of artificial intelligence, replies that it somewhat worries her.

“If people increasingly try to solve their problems with the help of Siri and other digital beings, I fear they will stop using their brains. This is especially a problem for children, as they basically do not have to learn as much as people used to learn and explore, but can simply ask their smartphones,” Bennett concluded.