Tech
Apple's new patent detects and censors swear words
by Tyler Munro
April 4, 2016
Apple gets into the censorship business.
Introduced in 1996, the Parental Advisory label was a contentious issue for Generation Xers, but since the advent and takeover of digital music, Tipper Gore’s curse word warning has become all but irrelevant. Luckily for her, and for concerned parents, prudes and children alike, Apple has a solution.
According to FACTMag, a patent the iPhone peddling behemoths first filed for in 2014 has finally gone through, and with it comes a new era in censorship.
According to the document, the company’s new digital patent automatically detects and removes swearing from any audio files, replacing explicit language with safe for family alternatives and automatically generated background music. And while there are no indications that this technology will soon be put into practice, it does pose some interesting questions.
Can the proposed patent handle Cannibal Corpse’s “Frigged with a Knife” as effortlessly as Marc Maron’s popular What the Fluff podcast? And by the time it comes out, will anyone really give an isht?
At this point, who the funk knows?
