Articles

Post-Retirement, Speech Tech Projects Await

What will I do if I stop working? What won't I do

It’s Time to Cross Speech Tech’s Annoying Valley

Face it: IVR systems are almost all annoying.

Has Speech Crossed the Uncanny Valley?

People no longer see humanlike speech as too creepy. The question is whether that will last.

Attack of the Smart Bots

AI-powered bots paired with TTS could be used for nefarious purposes.

Reality Isn’t Sci-Fi—It’s More Startling

Speech tech, like all tech, keeps getting more mind-blowing.

Designing a Speech Interface? Learn From Web Design Fails

The annoyances and mistakes on websites can provide valuable lessons.

Designing a Web Site? Learn from the Speech Business—Please!

Contact centers, whether with human or automated attendants, have a lot to teach corporate websites about usability.

How Can Speech Technology Help?

Looking at all the ways speech recognition can step up amid the pandemic

5G Presents Opportunities for Everyone, and That’s the Problem

It's a landmark for the enterprise—including criminal ones

Will This Security Innovation Make Biometrics Obsolete?

Public/private key cryptography relies on an exchange of unique data. Will this latest innovation change the way we think about security and make biometrics obsolete and create problems for the speech industry?

Will Speech Technology Keep Speech Free?

The technology is magical, but can be misused

Speech Technology Predictions for 2019

We asked our regular contributors and columnists what speech technology trends and stories will dominate the headlines in 2019. Which of these predictions do you think will come true in the year to come, and which do you think we'll still be waiting for in 2020?

Top Trends in Speech Technology for 2018

At a time when the pace of change in speech technology evolution and adoption seems to be on hyperdrive, a few key trends are pointing where the industry will move in the coming months.

Will AI-Powered ‘Microservices’ Bring Back Services of Old?

The Victorian era had butlers and clerks; we have speech recognition and bots.

What’s Next in Speech Technology? I’m Glad You Asked!

To shed light on what's coming, try looking at developer queries.

Ambiguity, the Illusion of Translation, and AI

Will artificial intelligence result in our losing something in the way we make sense of and debate the meaning of text?

Speech Technology as Job Creator—Not Job Replacer

Speech applications have often taken human jobs away. But could they soon lead to new opportunities?

Keep Bad ASR Out of My New Dumb Car

Cars equipped with the latest technology, including speech recognition, can complicate your journey

Where's the Stack?

Speech technology should take a page from Web site builders: freely available tools that work together

Finding a Solution to Password Insecurity

Two-factor authentication is a big step toward no passwords at all.

Do Secure Communications Face a Machiavellian Future?

Competitors can cooperate—or scheme for domination.

The Death of the Public Switched Telephone Network

Assessing the damages of the NSA's actions.

My Call Isn't All That Important to Me

When battling an IVR, there's not always a clear winner.

A Cautionary Tale of Technology Patents

An argument against innovation.

Singing the Praise of Speech Recognition

Applications are out there—if you know where to look.

Be Careful What You Wish For

When it comes to our privacy, how far will technology go?

Busting the Myth of Identity Theft

How safe is safe enough?

HTML5 — The Last Best Hope for Voice and Video

The spec obviates proprietary plug-ins and promotes an open approach

If This Passes, Only Criminals Could Do Speech Technology

Federal privacy bill would drive up compliance costs and inhibit market

Successful Failures

Speech has to step up or risk becoming 2011's Symbian.

The $10,000 Briefcase

Most devices from a few years ago are already obsolete.

Hey, You Kids! Get Off My Lawn!

Discussions of CCXML lead to a battle of the ages.

When in Rome...

To successfully launch a speech system in Italy—or any other part of Europe—translations should be done at the local level.

Start the Revolution Without Us

Speech is absent from the latest social networking innovations.

SpeechTEK Hands-On: The Latest and Greatest

Lab sessions give companies the chance to showcase their newest products and services.

Pardon the Interruption

Speech remains unable to keep us focused on the task at hand.

Thinking Backward and Thinking Ahead

Sci-fi paves the way for further TTS exploration

Standards Make the World Smaller

As standards advance, things just work together better.

The Quest for the Gold Foil Stamp

Patents: the ever-changing pitfalls, dangers, and opportunities of intellectual property.

Talk Quickly Without Talking Faster

A new platform could cut the time spent needlessly on the phone

Thoughts for the Men in Black

Questions to ponder as we advance audio-mining capabilities.

Submitted for Your Approval

SpeechTEK attendees conduct hands-on evaluations.

Implementation Strategies 2009

A complete guide to deploying speech.

Don't Get Overemotional

The Creepiness Factor

Too much personalization in your IVR can lead to trouble.

The Case for Call Recording

Legal issues abound regarding notification and privacy when call centers monitor and capture customer contacts.

What Callers Really Want from VUIs

SpeechTEK sessions detail a customer preference for service over technology solutions.

Lessons from the Blogosphere

For better user interactions, the speech world could learn from Twitter.

Ancient Applications

Though technology has advanced, speech is still a second-class citizen.

The Next Small Thing

Many baby steps versus one giant leap

New Year, New Names

Blend Art with Science

Boring Is OK, but Exciting Is Better

The time has come for a new era in speech

Why Make It So Hard?

In a hilarious Seinfeld episode, George asks for movie information and Kramer pretends to be an automated response system. George ultimately ends up frustrated even as "the system" finally gets to where "the customer" wanted to be in the first place. When Kramer says, "Why don't you just tell me the movie you selected?" we laugh because one, it is just funny and two, because we've all been George.

Voxeo Launches Open Source Telephony Application Initiative

ORLANDO, Fla. - Voxeo Corporation launched RocketSource, an initiative to reduce telephony application cost, integration, and customization issues by sponsoring and promoting the development of open source VoiceXML and CCXML applications.

SpeechTEK ’98: Bringing Speech to the Business World

William (“Ozzie”) Osborne, general manager of IBM SpeechSystems and William A. Bautz, chief technology officer of the New York Stock Exchange,will be the keynote speakers at the fourth annual SpeechTEK conference and exhibition at<@SM>the New York Hilton and Towers, Oct. 27-28. ><@SM><@SM>

Biometric Standards: Why We Need Them

Judith Markowitz // 31 Oct 1997

Biometric-based technologies, such as speaker verification and live-scan fingerprinting, are the only fully automated methods available for verifying that a person is who she or he claims to be. As such, they are powerful tools for security and other operations that require authentication or identification.

New Speaker Verification API is Announced

Scott Wieder // 30 Jun 1997

Technology that can make computers and applications more secure by identifying the voice of the persons using them was announced recently by the Speech Recognition API Committee, a consortium of leading technology developers and users.