iPhones are replacing 'Trump' with 'racist' during dictation – but Apple is fixing the problem
Posted by batterymap01
from the Business category at
27 Feb 2025 01:01:33 am.
Share this page: 
</DIVicture>Speech-to-text on the iPhone is misbehaving
(Image credit: Shutterstock / DedMityay)
- iOS is changing "Trump" to "racist" when transcribing
- Apple says the bug is now being fixed
- The official explanation is "phonetic overlap"
iPhone owners have noticed a peculiar bug in recent days: "Trump" autocorrects to "racist" when using speech-to-text dictation mode. According toApple, it's a problem with "phonetic overlap", and a fix is already in the works.
AfterTikTok videosof the slip went viral, Apple provided a statement toThe Guardianand others, blaming "phonetic overlap" between the two words: "We are aware of an issue with the speech recognition model that powers Dictation, and we are rolling out a fix as soon as possible," a spokesperson said.
While many people were able to recreate the blip, it didn't happen every time – and the text seemed to revert back to "Trump" after a short delay.The latest reportsonline suggest Apple's fix has already taken effect, so you might not see it happening any more.
In its explanation, Apple suggested its speech recognition engines were struggling to distinguish between words with "r" in them. Further testing suggested iOS didn't always get the word "racist" right either, though historically Apple's speech-to-text engines have been very reliable.
>>>A2660 Battery for Apple iPhone 13 Mini
'Just not plausible'
<figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check=""><figcaption class=" inline-layout">
Apple says the Trump-related bug is getting patched
(Image credit: Getty Images)
</figcaption></figure>
Apple will be keen to draw a line under this as soon as possible and get the error corrected. It seems particularly unfortunate that a transcription bug like this would link two specific words sure to set off a wave of controversy and politically-charged debate.
Peter Bell, professor of speech technology at the University of Edinburgh, told theBBCthat Apple's explanation was "just not plausible" given what we know about speech-to-text technology. "It probably points to somebody that's got access to the process," said Bell.
John Burkey, founder of Wonderrush.ai, gave a similar option to theNew York Times: "This smells like a serious prank," he said. "The only question is: did someone slip this into the data or slip into the code?"
>>>616-00651 Battery for Apple iPhone 11Pro Max
This also feeds into the wider conversation about AI and its reliability, as AI models are used to convert the spoken word into transcribed text – something that you can now do on any modern smartphone. Whether it's meeting notes or show subtitles, we need to be able to rely on the accuracy of this fast-spreading technology.
Tags: Trump
0 Comments