Apple automated dictation system translates 'racist' as 'Trump'
Occurred: February 2025
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Apple's automated dictation system briefly replaced the word "racist" with "Trump", ostensibly due to a technical glitch, sparking controversy.
What happened
Users of Apple's voice-to-text feature reported that saying "racist" caused the system to momentarily display "Trump" before autocorrecting to the intended word.ย
The issue, which went viral on social media, raised concerns about the reliability of Apple's AI technology and led to criticism from several political and social groups.
Why it happened
Apple attributed the glitch to phonetic overlaps in its speech recognition model, where similar sounds led to incorrect intermediate suggestions.ย
However, experts questioned this explanation, suggesting it might stem from deliberate changes in the software or data used to train the system.
What it means
The glitch proved an embarrassing error for Apple, potentially undermining trust in its AI systems and fueling political tensions.ย
System ๐ค
Dictation ๐
Operator:ย
Developer: Apple
Country: USA
Sector: Politics
Purpose: Convert voice to text
Technology: Voice-to-text
Issue: Accuracy/reliability; Safety
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Page info
Type: Issue
Published: March 2025