Nov 29, 2019 The new voice of reason
Whether or not you realize it, chances are you’ve recently had a conversation with a robot. Maybe it was apparent – Alexa giving the morning weather report or Siri helping with a shopping list – but perhaps it was more subtle, a suspiciously monotone customer service representative or an eerily predictive text message. Since Apple’s introduction of Siri in 2011, AI voice technology has exploded in popularity, with voice-enabled device sales reaching over $1 billion in 2018 and one in six Americans now possessing a “smart speaker” like Google Home or the Amazon Echo.
Researchers predict over 100 million smartphone users will access voice assistants by 2020, this nascent technology enabling companies to streamline operations, cull invaluable customer data, and provide a perpetually friendly voice at the end of the line. But how are AI voices crafted and implemented? Who is utilizing this evolving technology – and for what? Will AI voices soon be indistinguishable from real human intonations – and is this something to be celebrated or feared?
With the rise and proliferation of deepfakes, a visual technique that combines an image or voice with artificial intelligence to create a new, entirely too-lifelike image, there has been a wave of moral, industry-wide hand-wringing. But the desire for AI voice advancements persists. According to a new forecast from UK-based analytics and tech consulting firm Juniper Research, there will be eight billion digital voice assistants in use by 2023, landing in industries from healthcare to banking. (Bank of America recently unveiled its Erica chatbot, which uses human-backed research to provide AI-powered financial assistance.) And the software behind this AI is rapidly advancing – between 2013 and 2017, Google’s word accuracy rate rose from 80% to an impressive 95%, meaning the days of embarrassing Alexa slip-ups may soon be in the rearview.
“The number of voice-based applications is on the rise, but why is voice-activated technology quickly replacing fingertips? It’s convenient, and convenience is king,” said Ahmed Shafei, a business and technology leader focusing on security, voice UI, AI, and the Internet of Things (IoT). “Technology is meant to save us time and make us more productive, and that’s exactly what voice offers. It feeds our love and addiction for speed and removes the friction between users and devices.” Shafei explained that artificial intelligence, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), machine learning (ML) and deep learning capabilities are all changing the way businesses and entire industries work – and we can only expect the evolution continue.
