Okay, this leads to 3 questions:
Is there screen reader software which users can customize for their tastes in asmr and/or porn?
If not, why not???
And if there were, would this stop the guy harassing librarians?
“What is SÞ1GHL Reader?”
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If your tastes involve listening to the speech of a robot half-drowning in a vat of slightly-melted jello while being violently shaken, then good news, you don’t even need to customize it!
Last time I tried it (which was some years ago now), there were some other new options like “American Male” and “British Female”, but they were somehow even more unsettling than the default robot voice. At least it wasn’t pretending to try to sound human.
Without text having cues for intonation and speed and context, etc., it seems like a hard problem to cross the uncanny valley. But on the other hand, some amazing strides have been made in AI in the last decade or so.
Coincidentally, when offered a ‘more natural sounding voice’, Stephen Hawking refused. This is an interesting read about the surprising difficulties of keeping his ‘robotic-sounding’ voice from being lost forever: Saving Stephen Hawking’s Voice
And from another article about why:
Prof Hawking is using new software to speak, but has opted to keep the same voice […] Prof Hawking concedes that it’s slightly robotic, but insists he didn’t want a more natural voice.
“It has become my trademark, and I wouldn’t change it for a more natural voice with a British accent,” he said.
“I’m told that children who need a computer voice, want one like mine.”
– BBC News - Stephen Hawking warns artificial intelligence could end mankind
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really appreciated his update to Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start The Fire,” lol
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Yeah, and his hesitation in doing so. 
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Hearing these, it’s like, Yes, we did know!
And it saddens me, especially the exchange between Joanne Worley and Henry Gibson at the end.
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It seems like the most powerful people are either in love with the worst of the past, or out of touch with the needs of the present and the future. But I can’t decide which beter expresses it: “yesterday belongs to me,” or just “denial belongs to me.” But I have to say the latter fits the beat better.
The sun in the meadow is still very cough
The spread of the fire is free
But gather together with our masks off
Denial belongs to me!
The color of money is still a pale green
The firms share their profits with me
So temperature records should not be seen
Denial belongs to me!
Now profiting, profiting, show us the sign
Your owners are willing to see
Our laws ensure
The power is mine
Denial belongs to me!
Denial belongs to me!
Denial belongs to me!
Denial belongs to me!
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From 2015, but new to me:
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Wow. “National emergency” and “It means there is a risk to life and daily routines will need to change.” and “only travel “if absolutely necessary”” warnings, and “On the roads, gritters are planning to spread sand to reduce melting”.
But it’s only 104°F? That was a pretty normal summer temperature when I was growing up. It just meant carry a water bottle and stick to the shade as much as possible if you’re going to be out walking or jogging. Oh, and wear long sleeves and pants instead of t-shirt and shorts. To keep the sun off and keep skin temperature down.
Then again, where I grew up the city shut down when it snowed and people were freezing to death. 104°F or 40°C just doesn’t sound nearly as bad as a freeze though.
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