Meet The Real Voice Of Apple's Siri
Bangalore: In 2005, Susan Bennett, a voice artist from suburban Atlanta, Georgia was approached by ScanSoft, a software company looking for a new project and asked Bennett to sign a contract offering her voice for recordings that would be used in a database to construct speech, following which she had performed voice over for hundreds of phrases and catchy replies.
Little did she know that her voice would be used to communicate with over millions of people through a hand-held device. On October 4, 2011, Apple launched its voice-activated virtual ‘assistant’ Siri through the iPhone4S. When Bennett’s friends and relatives, who were accustomed to her voice, started to recognize the similarities between her and Siri’s voice, Susan Bennett realized who her actual clients were.
Two years since the launch of Siri, 64-year old Susan finally decided to reveal her identity through an interview with CNN. “I was very conservative about it for a long time and I wasn’t sure if I wanted that kind of notoriety. But then again, 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," said Susan.
According to CNN, Bennett’s voice has been heard worldwide, in various commercials, phone systems, GPS devices and also in Delta airport terminals. However, it is interesting to know that Apple hasn’t actually confirmed Bennett’s involvement. But Bennett insists that she is Siri and so does the audio-forensics expert. With over 30 years of experience, the forensics expert agrees 100 percent that Siri’s voice belongs to Susan Bennett.
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