What I Hate About Medium’s New Listening Feature

I mean, really? Should we use default AI for writer’s voices?

I like the new listening feature Medium has brought us for the record. I’ve even listened to a couple of articles (including my own) and enjoyed this new trait. I believe it’ll enhance some articles and bring in more readers (listeners?), connecting them more intimately with the writer.

However, Medium got something blatantly wrong. And if you are listening to this instead of reading (if you aren’t, I suggest starting over and putting this article on listen mode), you’ll know what the problem is.

As we all know, male and female writers write differently. They write about different topics. Even the mood and tone are different between the genders. If the article is written in the first-person point of view, then the piece turns into a more intimate story.

If you put a voice to the article, you want to capture that writer.

However, if you haven’t noticed, when you publish an article, Medium attaches a male AI voice. Unless the reader manually change this, Medium assigns a male voice no matter what gender the author.

Do you realize how weird it is to listen to a woman’s story in the first person with a male voice?

It’s fucking weird.

But beyond that, it’s sexist.

Would Medium dare to put a female voice as the primary voice for all of their articles? Of course not. Everyone would notice that maneuver. So, why hasn’t anyone noticed or said anything about this glaring overlook? Where are the protests?

If you’re a woman writer, do you want a male voice speaking for you?

I know I don’t.

**Update** I was informed that there really is a female voice you can choose if you don’t want the standard male voice. However, this option is only for readers, not writers. So, female writers still have a default to a male voice in for their articles. Thanks, Medium.