Speech recon

1. How could speech recognition systems be used in innovative and useful ways? As technology continues to advance, speech recognition is becoming an increasingly ever-present theme in our day to day lives. Most recently, Apple announced their iPhone 4S that came pre-installed with an advanced speech recognition software known as Siri. Although cellular communications have been using speech recognition applications for over 10 years now, the level of advancement that these applications are capable of have increased exponentially. Furthermore, everyday household appliances are also embracing the trend by offering voice activated coffee makers, voice activated security alarm systems etc. It is not unreasonable to assume therefore that in the future advanced speech recognition software will govern more and more of our common day to day activities (Li, 2004).
One particular aspect that it is likely to replace is the job of the drive thru order taker. Everyday, tens of thousands of orders are placed and received by a human being; however, the fact of the matter is that there is no reason why speech recognition software would not be capable of doing the exact same task. Further, technical support automation is already something that has experienced a great deal of success. As such, it would not be a stretch to assume that at some point, calling your banking institution, cell phone provider, or electrical company could all be handled by speech recognition software; with a human only acting as a last resort back up for very complex and convoluted issues.
2. Do you think speech recognition systems eventually will replace humans in common phone interactions? Is this good or bad?
Authors and futurologists have long feared the time in which computers/robots will take over a high number of jobs from humans; thereby stripping humanity of its wherewithal and ability to perform certain functions on their own. In the same way, having voice recognition software conceivably performing a majority of customer care/relations jobs will doubtless have a negative effect on consumer satisfaction as the consumer feels as if their business is unworthy of the time it would take a “ real human” to answer their questions. In the end, the technology in and of itself is not a bad thing; however, its application if overused is troubling for the future.
Reference
Li, D., & Xuedong Huang, M. (2004). Challenges in Adopting Speech Recognition. Communications Of The ACM, 47(1), 69-75.