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25 Years In Speech Technology and I still don’t talk to my computer

matthewkaras.medium.com

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Re: 25 Years In Speech Technology and I still don’t talk to my computer

#211

Post by YeGoblynQueenne »

fennecfoxen wrote: post #153
Izkata wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Which is exactly why I prefer formal query languages over NLP queries. People like to reference Star Trek for stuff like NLP queries, but if you go back to TNG and pay close attention to the verbal queries to the computer, much of the time it isn't natural language. They seem to actually use some sort of formal query language that fits English a bit closer, but is still distinct from when the characters speak to ea…

> They seem to actually use some sort of formal query language that fits English a bit closer, but is still distinct from when the characters speak to each other. "Computer, begin auto-destruct sequence, authorization Picard 4-7 Alpha Tango." - Wake word. Command. Authorization stanza. (I bet the computer would prompt for authorization if missing.) "Computer, Commander Beverly Crusher. Confirm auto-destruct sequence,…

To be fair, that's just how Picard speaks (e.g. "engage"). I haven't noticed anyone else saying "Tea. Earl Grey. Hot".

In any case I think this kind of speech is formulaic for the benefit of the audience, most of all, who are made aware through the formality that the speaker is addressing a machine. Additionally, we're watching navy men and women in space, so we expect them to speak to each other and to their computers in a formulaic manner ("Deck 5! Report!" etc, I can't think of good examples, brain's too tired).

Or perhaps the idea is that Trek AI is not really as advanced as to be able to understand natural language and that makes Data such a unique specimen.

Then again, there's the example of the Doctor in Voyager. I'm confused, I admit.

Re: 25 Years In Speech Technology and I still don’t talk to my computer

#212

Post by sleepybrett »

mikestew wrote: post #73
dheera wrote: post #5

A big problem with the assistants is that as soon as they fail at a query they seem stupid, I feel stupid, and I stop using them for a long time. Last weekend I had the following failed queries: "OK Google, what is the air quality like at Mt. Shasta today?" "OK Google, add a waypoint for the last gas station before the mountain pass" "OK Google, what percentage of people can you detect to be wearing masks on recent I…

A big problem with the assistants is that as soon as they fail at a query they seem stupid, I feel stupid, and I stop using them for a long time. Raise your hand if you remember the early days of Xbox "recognition", as you listen to other people in your party: "Xbox, record. XBOX, RECORD. X...BOX, RE...CORD." It's the reason that "oh, we can't sell an Xbox without a Kinect" Kinect went into the garage after a few mon…

Kinect, actually awesome tech, implementation on the xbox... not great. But the heart and soul of a ton of installation art pieces.

It's really too bad that MS went with a windows only sdk for the 2.0, the 1.0 being external tech had a multiplatform sdk.

Re: 25 Years In Speech Technology and I still don’t talk to my computer

#214

Post by martyvis »

bserge wrote: post #53
coldcode wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use my voice assistant on my phone to set timers. That's it.

The other day, I wanted it to open an app and start recording when I say "Hey Google, take a voice note"... but no dice :/

Just say "Hey Google, open Live Transcribe" (assuming you had that app installed)

Re: 25 Years In Speech Technology and I still don’t talk to my computer

#215

Post by dragonwriter »

YeGoblynQueenne wrote: post #211
fennecfoxen wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They seem to actually use some sort of formal query language that fits English a bit closer, but is still distinct from when the characters speak to each other. "Computer, begin auto-destruct sequence, authorization Picard 4-7 Alpha Tango." - Wake word. Command. Authorization stanza. (I bet the computer would prompt for authorization if missing.) "Computer, Commander Beverly Crusher. Confirm auto-destruct sequence,…

To be fair, that's just how Picard speaks (e.g. "engage"). I haven't noticed anyone else saying "Tea. Earl Grey. Hot". In any case I think this kind of speech is formulaic for the benefit of the audience, most of all, who are made aware through the formality that the speaker is addressing a machine. Additionally, we're watching navy men and women in space, so we expect them to speak to each other and to their compute…

The Doctor in Voyager is, IIRC, an early prototype, and Voyager is bother later than The Next Generation and set on a newer ship. And the Doctor, IIRC, benefited from upgrades during the show, having been more limited I scope initially.

In any case, Trek isn't super internally consistent, anyhow.

Re: 25 Years In Speech Technology and I still don’t talk to my computer

#216

Post by atestu »

dheera wrote: post #5

A big problem with the assistants is that as soon as they fail at a query they seem stupid, I feel stupid, and I stop using them for a long time. Last weekend I had the following failed queries: "OK Google, what is the air quality like at Mt. Shasta today?" "OK Google, add a waypoint for the last gas station before the mountain pass" "OK Google, what percentage of people can you detect to be wearing masks on recent I…

Siri answers the first query correctly, fwiw

Re: 25 Years In Speech Technology and I still don’t talk to my computer

#217

Post by _o-o_ »

jldugger wrote: post #193
dheera wrote: post #5

A big problem with the assistants is that as soon as they fail at a query they seem stupid, I feel stupid, and I stop using them for a long time. Last weekend I had the following failed queries: "OK Google, what is the air quality like at Mt. Shasta today?" "OK Google, add a waypoint for the last gas station before the mountain pass" "OK Google, what percentage of people can you detect to be wearing masks on recent I…

The problem, as you note, is that you are actually doing more parsing of the input than virtual assistants do. Tom Scott has some good videos on the subject ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3vIEKWrP9Q&list=PL96C35uN7x... ) To give a more concrete example, here's a UPenn demo ( https://cogcomp.seas.upenn.edu/page/demo_view/ShallowParse ) for your instagram query: > NP What percentage PP of NP people can NP you VP de…

This reminds me of the issue in machine translation where even sophisticated systems cannot understand the importance of a word like "no". So, for example, a phrase like "please press this button" could be translated as "please do not press this button" and it could be automatically rated as a good translation because most of the words are there.

But, on the other hand, I have dictated these paragraphs, (pretty much just adding punctuation and minor edits at the end). I think the most useful feature I've found related to voice is dictation (speech to text). It is almost perfect, at least in English (and I am not a native speaker).

Re: 25 Years In Speech Technology and I still don’t talk to my computer

#218

Post by stickfigure »

irrational wrote: post #192
ineedasername wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On your searches: 1) I get the correct response; Assistant first asks me if I want to use "air check", I say yes, and get the correct response. 2) I get appropriate responses when I ask "What is the closest gas station to Mt. Shasta." Because the approaches are mostly from Rt. 5, you'll have no problem getting a usable response. Another approach from Rt 89 exists, so I don't know how you expect Google to know which "…

Rt. 5? Do you mean I-5? I'm curious if using "Rt." instead of "I-" is a regional thing. Where are you located? Typically Rt. would only be used for a small state road, not a major interstate highway.

The correct title for Californians is "The 5".

Re: 25 Years In Speech Technology and I still don’t talk to my computer

#219

Post by dragonwriter »

stickfigure wrote: post #218
irrational wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rt. 5? Do you mean I-5? I'm curious if using "Rt." instead of "I-" is a regional thing. Where are you located? Typically Rt. would only be used for a small state road, not a major interstate highway.

The correct title for Californians is " The 5".

> The correct title for Californians is "The 5".

You have omitted the rather important qualifier “Southern” from your description, as that usage is a key differentiator between Northern and Southern California.

Re: 25 Years In Speech Technology and I still don’t talk to my computer

#220

Post by dreamer7 »

dheera wrote: post #59
dreamer7 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't seem correct. People prefer apps because they are better at providing the information we need (menus, products, services etc) and the alternative for engaging through calls is either talking with overworked humans or a painful IVR service. For me, the ideal interface to engage (order something, create a note etc) when you know what you want is through speech. It just feels so effortless.

I can definitely say that for food I MUCH prefer the web/app interface. I can swipe through a bunch of nice-looking food and just tap on something that looks appetizing. You can't get that with voice no matter how you do it. It's like if a restaurant had no menu and the wait staff just recited the menu in your face and asked you to pick. Even with real humans, voice isn't the best interface for presenting food choice…

That's exactly what I meant. The app interface is good for conveying information. But if you know what you'll order, eg - popcorn every weekend, just saying "Jarvis, order my usual popcorn combo" is so much more seamless.
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