Denmark is a frontrunner in the development of digital public services. When citizens need to choose a doctor, change their address, apply for housing benefits, or access other public services, this typically takes place through the state’s main digital portal, borger.dk. Citizens who are unable to read the text on screen can have it read aloud. But how do we actually perceive these synthetic voices? And can we understand what they are reading? These are the questions explored by Iben Have, associate professor of media studies at Aarhus University, in the public engagement project Stemmeboxen.

When citizens visit Aarhus Municipality’s Citizen Service at Dokk1 in spring 2026, they will encounter an additional screen resembling the municipality’s self-service solutions. This screen is the physical installation of Stemmeboxen, inviting citizens to reflect on the robot voices that read aloud official texts.

Through a set of headphones, participants are asked to listen to synthetic voices reading from borger.dk’s guide to applying for a new passport. They are then asked to assess whether the voice is trustworthy and intelligible, and whether it is appropriate for use by the municipality.

“It is a democratic necessity that we trust public authorities. If the official voices of authorities are not perceived as trustworthy, this can, in principle, undermine democracy,” explains Iben Have.

Meeting accessibility requirements

In June 2025, the European Accessibility Act came into force in all EU member states. In Denmark, the provisions have been implemented through national accessibility legislation, which, among other things, requires digital public services to be accessible to individuals who are unable to read. In practice, this means that website content must be available in audio form. The EU estimates that 20 percent of all citizens will at some point experience a need for assistance in accessing online text.

On borger.dk, users are referred to the text-to-speech technology embedded in their devices, typically within Microsoft or Apple operating systems. This forms the basis for one of the key questions in the project:

Who designs and controls these voices, and what subtle layers of nonverbal communication do they carry in terms of gender, age, embodiment, emotion, approachability, authenticity, trust, and geographical affiliation?

“I hope to raise public awareness and foster critical reflection on how synthetic voices shape the written content they convey. My previous research shows that synthetic voices are never neutral, and with this project I aim to encourage reflection on the meanings carried by the voices themselves, beyond the language,” explains Iben Have.

The project also investigates how audio rendering affects the understanding of both the content and the sender, and whether written content is suitable for being read aloud at all.

“The design of text-to-speech for longer online texts in Danish is still quite underdeveloped. If you listen carefully, you will notice that synthetic voices read straight through the visual layout from top to bottom, line by line, without taking into account menus, headings, links, and so on. It is therefore highly relevant to examine how this affects comprehension,” says Iben Have.

The Stemmeboxen installation will be on display at Citizen Service in Aarhus Municipality until 18 May. From 1 June to 17 August, it will be exhibited at Citizen Service in Struer Municipality. During this period, it will also be possible to attend lectures and workshops on the use and experience of synthetic voice technologies at Struer Museum.

Facts

Stemmeboxen is a public engagement project consisting of a physical installation, a podcast produced by Videnslyd, lectures, and online dissemination.

The project is presented both physically at Citizen Service locations in Aarhus and Struer, at Struer Museum and Dokk1, online, and on various podcast platforms.

Stemmeboxen is funded by a grant of DKK 182,500 from the Carlsberg Foundation.

The project is led by Iben Have, associate professor of media studies at Aarhus University.

Contact

Iben Have
Associate professor, Media and Journalism Studies
School of Communication and Culture
Aarhus Universitet
Mail: ibenhave@cc.au.dk
Telefon: +4541440047