Creators Reimagine AI Voice Assistant with Canarian Cultural Twist
Content creators Jesús Rivas and Fany Ortega have reimagined Apple’s voice assistant with a Canarian twist, highlighting the need for AI to better reflect local linguistic and cultural identities.
Artificial intelligence is becoming a part of our daily lives, and in response, people are finding creative ways to adapt this global technology to fit their own local cultures. Content creators Jesús Rivas and Fany Ortega recently explored this idea by reimagining Apple’s voice assistant with a distinctly Canarian twist.
In their video, the standard assistant is replaced by "Cathaysa," a version programmed with the unique vocabulary, customs, and geography of the Canary Islands. The clip features a simulated car navigation system that swaps robotic, neutral instructions for the warmth and local slang of the archipelago. It even includes nods to regional staples like guachinches and ends with a trip to Tenerife’s Las Teresitas beach.
This project is more than just a viral video; it highlights a growing demand for technology that reflects the people who use it. Virtual assistants are typically designed with standard, neutral accents that often overlook the rich linguistic diversity of regions like the Canary Islands. By using satire, Rivas and Ortega point out the gap between big tech’s "one-size-fits-all" approach and the reality of their users, sparking a conversation about how AI could become more culturally sensitive in the future.