A video essay about capitalism that pairs Alisor South’s essay, The Pleasure Panic published in heliotropejournal.net with an excerpt from Ex Machina directed by Alex Garland (2014). Experimenting with different AI voice actors when making this video, Kaylee by Replica Studios jumped out at me. The bio for this AI character describes her as “from the sun-soaked shores of California, Kaylee is all about the West Coast Spirit and vibe. A little bit of drama a whole lot of sass, this California girl is a great supporting starlet.” Kaylee features three settings ripe with varying vocal fry: Angry, Distraught, and Sassy (which I’ve all used here). I was drawn to this voice because, much like Ava, the underestimated AI robot in Ex Machina, I see Kaylee as representative of young women who are underestimated because of how they sound. You can read more about this project, my approach to AI, and my performance practice here.

Credits:
“The Pleasure Panic”, written by AI writer Alisor South, heliotropejournal.net, 2022
Voice over by AI actor Kaylee
Excerpt from Ex Machina (2014, dir. Alex Garland)
Produced by Dayna McLeod

*To be clear: this essay is AI-generated as is the voice that narrates it*