Scientific bases of human-machine communication by voice.

The scientific bases for human-machine communication by voice are in the fields of psychology, linguistics, acoustics, signal processing, computer science, and integrated circuit technology. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the basic scientific and technological issues in human-machine communication by voice and to point out areas of future research opportunity. The discussion is organized around the following major issues in implementing human-machine voice communication systems: (i) hardware/software implementation of the system, (ii) speech synthesis for voice output, (iii) speech recognition and understanding for voice input, and (iv) usability factors related to how humans interact with machines.

The role of voice input for human-machine communication.

Optimism is growing that the near future will witness rapid growth in human-computer interaction using voice. System prototypes have recently been built that demonstrate speaker-independent real-time speech recognition, and understanding of naturally spoken utterances with vocabularies of 1000 to 2000 words, and larger. Already, computer manufacturers are building speech recognition subsystems into their new product lines. However, before this technology can be broadly useful, a substantial knowledge base is needed about human spoken language and performance during computer-based spoken interaction. This paper reviews application areas in which spoken interaction can play a significant role, assesses potential benefits of spoken interaction with machines, and compares voice with other modalities of human-computer interaction. It also discusses information that will be needed to build a firm empirical foundation for the design of future spoken and multimodal interfaces. Finally, it argues for a more systematic and scientific approach to investigating spoken input and performance with future language technology.

A perspective on early commercial applications of voice-processing technology for telecommunications and aids for the handicapped.

The Colloquium on Human-Machine Communication by Voice highlighted the global technical community's focus on the problems and promise of voice-processing technology, particularly, speech recognition and speech synthesis. Clearly, there are many areas in both the research and development of these technologies that can be advanced significantly. However, it is also true that there are many applications of these technologies that are capable of commercialization now. Early successful commercialization of new technology is vital to ensure continuing interest in its development. This paper addresses efforts to commercialize speech technologies in two markets: telecommunications and aids for the handicapped.

Voice-processing technologies--their application in telecommunications.

As the telecommunications industry evolves over the next decade to provide the products and services that people will desire, several key technologies will become commonplace. Two of these, automatic speech recognition and text-to-speech synthesis, will provide users with more freedom on when, where, and how they access information. While these technologies are currently in their infancy, their capabilities are rapidly increasing and their deployment in today's telephone network is expanding. The economic impact of just one application, the automation of operator services, is well over $100 million per year. Yet there still are many technical challenges that must be resolved before these technologies can be deployed ubiquitously in products and services throughout the worldwide telephone network. These challenges include: (i) High level of accuracy. The technology must be perceived by the user as highly accurate, robust, and reliable. (ii) Easy to use. Speech is only one of several possible input/output modalities for conveying information between a human and a machine, much like a computer terminal or Touch-Tone pad on a telephone. It is not the final product. Therefore, speech technologies must be hidden from the user. That is, the burden of using the technology must be on the technology itself. (iii) Quick prototyping and development of new products and services. The technology must support the creation of new products and services based on speech in an efficient and timely fashion. In this paper I present a vision of the voice-processing industry with a focus on the areas with the broadest base of user penetration: speech recognition, text-to-speech synthesis, natural language processing, and speaker recognition technologies. The current and future applications of these technologies in the telecommunications industry will be examined in terms of their strengths, limitations, and the degree to which user needs have been or have yet to be met. Although noteworthy gains have been made in areas with potentially small user bases and in the more mature speech-coding technologies, these subjects are outside the scope of this paper.

Military and government applications of human-machine communication by voice.

This paper describes a range of opportunities for military and government applications of human-machine communication by voice, based on visits and contacts with numerous user organizations in the United States. The applications include some that appear to be feasible by careful integration of current state-of-the-art technology and others that will require a varying mix of advances in speech technology and in integration of the technology into applications environments. Applications that are described include (1) speech recognition and synthesis for mobile command and control; (2) speech processing for a portable multifunction soldier's computer; (3) speech- and language-based technology for naval combat team tactical training; (4) speech technology for command and control on a carrier flight deck; (5) control of auxiliary systems, and alert and warning generation, in fighter aircraft and helicopters; and (6) voice check-in, report entry, and communication for law enforcement agents or special forces. A phased approach for transfer of the technology into applications is advocated, where integration of applications systems is pursued in parallel with advanced research to meet future needs.

What does voice-processing technology support today?

This paper describes the state of the art in applications of voice-processing technologies. In the first part, technologies concerning the implementation of speech recognition and synthesis algorithms are described. Hardware technologies such as microprocessors and DSPs (digital signal processors) are discussed. Software development environment, which is a key technology in developing applications software, ranging from DSP software to support software also is described. In the second part, the state of the art of algorithms from the standpoint of applications is discussed. Several issues concerning evaluation of speech recognition/synthesis algorithms are covered, as well as issues concerning the robustness of algorithms in adverse conditions.

User interfaces for voice applications.

This paper discusses some of the aspects of task requirements, user expectations, and technological capabilities that influence the design of a voice interface and then identifies several components of user interfaces that are particularly critical in successful voice applications. Examples from several applications are provided to demonstrate how these components are used to produce effective voice interfaces.

The future of voice-processing technology in the world of computers and communications.

This talk, which was the keynote address of the NAS Colloquium on Human-Machine Communication by Voice, discusses the past, present, and future of human-machine communications, especially speech recognition and speech synthesis. Progress in these technologies is reviewed in the context of the general progress in computer and communications technologies.

Perceptions des femmes exerçant différentes formes d'activités sexuelles rémunérées hors rue sur leur pratique

La présente recherche rend compte de la perception de leurs activités de huit femmes ayant pratiqué ou pratiquant toujours diverses formes d’activités sexuelles rémunérées dans un contexte hors rue. Les formes d’activités les plus souvent abordées sont la danse nue avec et sans contacts, l’escorte, le massage érotique et le phénomène communément appelé « sugar daddy », soit l’échange des services contre rémunération avec un client en particulier. Deux participantes de l’échantillon ont, parallèlement à leurs pratiques hors rue, exercé dans la rue. Le terme « pratiques sexuelles rémunérées » a été privilégié afin d’assurer une perspective neutre, c’est-à-dire sans parti pris a priori pour aucune des deux visions préexistantes par rapport au phénomène se situant à deux extrémités de ce que nous percevons plutôt être un continuum, soit la vision abolitionniste voulant que la « prostitution » soit une forme d’exploitation et de violence sexuelle commise principalement à l’égard des femmes, qui devrait être décriminalisée pour les femmes, mais criminalisée pour les clients et les proxénètes, et la vision soutenant que le « travail du sexe » est un choix qui constitue un travail comme un autre et, conséquemment, mérite d’être décriminalisé complètement, et ce, même pour les clients et les proxénètes. Notre approche visait essentiellement à permettre d’aller chercher les visions subjectives des femmes sur leur pratique, point de vue que nous retrouvons peu dans les écrits et les débats sur le sujet. La cadre théorique qui sous-tend notre analyse est celui de l’intersectionnalité. Les principales sources de discrimination ressorties sont l’âge, le statut socioéconomique, et l’origine ethnique pour une participante. Ces sources augmentent les facteurs de vulnérabilité faisant que les femmes se dirigent vers l’univers des pratiques sexuelles rémunérées, y demeurent ou parfois y retournent après un arrêt, ceci afin d’assurer leur subsistance, la consommation de substances psychoactives ou pour pouvoir rembourser des dettes et/ou se payer certains luxes. Le but de notre étude est de découvrir et de comprendre la perception des femmes quant à leur expérience associée à la pratique de différentes formes d’activités sexuelles rémunérées hors rue. Il s’agissait plus spécifiquement de décrire, comprendre et analyser la trajectoire ayant conduit les femmes vers la pratique d’activités sexuelles rémunérées; comprendre leurs trajectoires et leurs expériences en fonction des différents types de pratique, plus ou moins intense, plus ou moins variée et plus ou moins étendue dans le temps et, enfin, de situer leur perspective sur le continuum du débat social positionnant la pratique d’activités sexuelles rémunérées comme étant soit une forme d’exploitation ou une forme de travail comme un autre. Afin d’atteindre ces objectifs, une approche qualitative faite d’entretiens semi-dirigés auprès des femmes a été réalisée. Nous avons ainsi pu situer les perspectives des femmes sur un continuum où plusieurs trouvaient leur place dans des visions plus nuancées de leur réalité, alors que d’autres rejoignaient davantage une des deux visions polarisées. En effet, certaines ont vécu leur expérience essentiellement comme une forme d’exploitation et de violence à leur égard, alors que d’autres en traitent comme un choix et un travail comme un autre.