Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and digital assistants like Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa help people get driving directions, make grocery lists, and plenty else. However, these automatic speech recognition systems still cannot do everything that a human listener can. You have probably experienced the frustration of calling your bank or utility company and needing to repeat yourself so that the digital customer service bot can understand you. Maybe you’ve dictated a note on your phone, only to spend time editing garbled words.
As companies and public agencies increasingly adopt automatic speech recognition tools to cut costs, people have little choice but to interact with them. However, the more these systems come into use in critical fields, ranging from emergency first responders and health care to education and law enforcement, the more likely there will be grave consequences when they fail to recognize what people say.
