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The Future of Speech-Based Human-Computer Interaction

Reporter: Ethan Coomber, Research Assistant III

2021 LPBI Summer Internship in Data Science and Podcast Library Development
This article reports on a research conducted by the Tokyo Institute of Technology, published on 9 June 2021.

As technology continues to advance, the human-computer relationship develops alongside with it. As researchers and developers find new ways to improve a computer’s ability to recognize the distinct pitches that compose a human’s voice, the potential of technology begins to push back what people previously thought was possible. This constant improvement in technology has allowed us to identify new potential challenges in voice-based technological interaction.

When humans interact with one another, we do not convey our message with only our voices. There are a multitude of complexities to our emotional states and personality that cannot be obtained simply through the sound coming out of our mouths. Aspects of our communication such as rhythm, tone, and pitch are essential in our understanding of one another. This presents a challenge to artificial intelligence as technology is not able to pick up on these cues.

In the modern day, our interactions with voice-based devices and services continue to increase. In this light, researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology and RIKEN, Japan, have performed a meta-synthesis to understand how we perceive and interact with the voice (and the body) of various machines. Their findings have generated insights into human preferences, and can be used by engineers and designers to develop future vocal technologies.

– Kate Seaborn

While it will always be difficult for technology to perfectly replicate a human interaction, the inclusion of filler terms such as “I mean…”, “um” and “like…” have been shown to improve human’s interaction and comfort when communicating with technology. Humans prefer communicating with agents that match their personality and overall communication style. The illusion of making the artificial intelligence appear human has a dramatic affect on the overall comfort of the person interacting with the technology. Several factors that have been proven to improve communication are when the artificial intelligence comes across as happy or empathetic with a higher pitched voice.

Using machine learning, computers are able to recognize patterns within human speech rather than requiring programming for specific patterns. This allows for the technology to adapt to human tendencies as they continue to see them. Over time, humans develop nuances in the way they speak and communicate which frequently results in a tendency to shorten certain words. One of the more common examples is the expression “I don’t know”. This expression is frequently reduced to the phrase “dunno”. Using machine learning, computers would be able to recognize this pattern and realize what the human’s intention is.

With advances in technology and the development of voice assistance in our lives, we are expanding our interactions to include computer interfaces and environments. While there are still many advances that need to be made in order to achieve the desirable level of communication, developers have identified the necessary steps to achieve the desirable human-computer interaction.

Sources:

Tokyo Institute of Technology. “The role of computer voice in the future of speech-based human-computer interaction.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 9 June 2021.

Rev. “Speech Recognition Trends to Watch in 2021 and Beyond: Responsible AI.” Rev, 2 June 2021, http://www.rev.com/blog/artificial-intelligence-machine-learning-speech-recognition.

“The Role of Computer Voice in the Future of Speech-Based Human-Computer Interaction.” EurekAlert!, 1 June 2021, http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-06/tiot-tro060121.php.

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