To think younger people are talking like AI voices?

[BlackForestCake]

I'm old and don't have kids so this is just an impression I get from overhearing people on public transport – but do people sound more and more expressionless and robotic when they talk? Has anyone else noticed this?

It could just be me.

No. AI hasn't existed long enough to change a generation's speech patterns.

To me it’s not AI, instead I think it’s a more generalised affected accent, more obvious particularly if they watch American influencers. If you think social media now covers vast swathes of the population, the terminology and phrases once picked up from peers and socialising are now coming from apps and hitting everyone.

Not AI, but definitely the Youtuber intonation. Drives me mad when DD does it.

Is that you ChatGPT?

I don't think I've heard AI 'speak' much, and it really hasn't been around that long, yet. I agree it has more to do with a certain way of speaking that is popular on social media platforms.

I've noticed trends in body language/movement in these videos, too. There's a specific way of glancing off-camera while speaking that so many of them seem to use, and it irritates me beyond all reason. It just feels incredibly artificial.

My 7yr old niece speaks with one of those transatlantic accents, it's quite weird. Has 100% got it from the internet

I think this is on the money. My lifelong London teen says 'Rilly' Californian style rather than 'really' and I'm sure that's from online speak

My Gen Z DC don’t speak in any odd way. I haven’t noticed it amongst their friends either.

Not ai but my kids watch TikTok on double time and speak the same way. Fucking infuriates me.

I've noticed that many people are both talking like, and communicating as though, they are making a podcast or YouTube/TikTok video.

It's quite disturbing. One sided. Every statement sounds like a question. Yet they just...monologue in a performative style.

Much worse with teens but it's affecting people my age (40) too. I've noticed I'm drawn to and really enjoying conversations with people in their 50s and older these days because the flow is naturally two way conversation, reciprocal questions and answers, eye contact.

As opposed to "I'm going to talk at you and perform being a person but not look at you much and wave my hands around a lot while using an odd speech pattern and emphasising some words like reeeeeaaaaalllly AWESOME and ohmygosh it was sooooooo LUSH in a weird Anglo American accent."

And it's very weird for my personally, as someone with AuDHD, to be complaining about the odd speech patterns, lack of eye contact and hand waving of mostly neurotypical people. Did TikTok/YouTube make social communication struggles a stylistic, popular thing?

Accents, speech patterns, communication is one of my special interests so maybe I'm just hyperfocussed on it but something about it makes me feel deeply uncomfortable. It just seems so inauthentic and, yes, robotic.

It's gone from, "I had to nip to Tesco this morning and got caught in the rain...did you manage to miss it?"

to "So, this morning...I was, like? WALKING? To TESCOS and Oh. My. God. I had an absolute MARE because what happened? It started to RAIN!!! Like literally massive like DROPS of rain like all over my face? I can't even. I was like ohmygosh does someone up there hate me or something? Anyways, once I'd recovered from that I was like okayyyy I like literally have groceries to buy so not today Satan I will get a brolly from one of those guys? That sell them? Like on the street? Like has anyone actually noticed that they just like...appear? Like out of nowhere? When it rains? Like what is that about? Where do they come from? And where do they go when it's NOT raining? So anyways, I got to Tescos
and..."

Not a fan. Hope it's a passing phase. I'm predominantly blaming Tik Tok and other "Shorts".

Spot on @PerkyMintDeer it was fun to perform read.

I'm also AUDHD and your post is 100% on the money! (Not youtuber speak).

Are they young enough that you can stop them watching it? Or at least prevent them from speaking that way by insisting that they speak properly? My 10 y/o has picked up a bit of that intonation from school friends who watch YouTube / tik tok etc, but I refuse to let her speak like that with me. I am also really strict with what I let her watch, but this rubbish still sneaks in somehow!

I experience it a lot with emails from younger colleagues.

They hope I am well!

Sorry to bother you!

So! Many! Exclamation! Marks!

I would like them to get to the point.

Is there ever anything more depressing on Dragons' Den than Evan Davis intoning: 'Steven Bartlett's interest is aroused by Cathy and Trevor's mention of Tik Tok'.

You just know it's all tat going downhill from there.

And wonderful post, @PerkyMintDeer - thank you.

My kids are 23/24 and speak normally. When my daughter messages, however, it's all in lower case. She also writes without it being joined up whatsoever. Has done 3 A Levels and all Uni work in this style. Not sure whether it's a 'thing' for their generation. I remember certain 'styles' of handwriting being in fashion, so to speak, when I was at school.