Latest news with #speechrecognition
Wall Street Journal
2 days ago
- Science
- Wall Street Journal
It's Known as ‘The List'—and It's a Secret File of AI Geniuses
All over Silicon Valley, the brightest minds in AI are buzzing about 'The List,' a compilation of the most talented engineers and researchers in artificial intelligence that Mark Zuckerberg has spent months putting together. Lucas Beyer works in multimodal vision-language research and describes himself as 'a scientist dedicated to the creation of awesomeness.' Yu Zhang specializes in automatic speech recognition and barely has an online presence besides his influential papers. Misha Bilenko is an expert in large-scale machine learning who also enjoys hiking and skiing—or, as he puts it on his website, 'applying hill-climbing search and gradient descent algorithms to real-world domains.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Howard University and Google Research Enhance A.I. Speech Recognition of African American English
Howard University and Google researchers release dataset of over 600 hours of African American English dialects to improve AI speech recognition Howard University and Google Research elevate Black American dialects in AI WASHINGTON, D.C., June 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Howard University and Google Research released data today which can be used by artificial intelligence developers to improve the experience of Black people using automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology. Through the partnership, Project Elevate Black Voices, researchers traveled across the United States to catalogue dialects and diction used frequently in Black communities but often not recognized or misconstrued by artificial intelligence-driven technologies, making it more difficult for many Black individuals to engage with the technology. African American English (AAE), African American Vernacular, Black English, Black talk, or Ebonics is a rich language rooted in history and culture. Because of inherent bias in the development process, incorrect results are sometimes generated when Black users vocalize commands to AI-driven technology. Many Black users have needed to inauthentically change their voice patterns away from their natural accents to be understood by voice products. 'African American English has been at the forefront of United States culture since almost the beginning of the country' said Gloria Washington, Ph.D., Howard University researcher and co-principal investigator of Project Elevate Black Voices and Howard University researcher. Voice assistant technology should understand different dialects of all African American English to truly serve not just African Americans, but other persons who speak these unique dialects. It's about time that we provide the best experience for all users of these technologies.' Researchers collected 600 hours of data from users of different AAE dialects in an effort to address implicit barriers to improving ASR performance. Thirty-two states are represented in the dataset. They found that there is a lack of natural AAE speech found within speech data because Black users have been implicitly conditioned to change their voices when using ASR-based technology. Even when data is available, in-product AAE is difficult to leverage because of code-switching. "Working with our outstanding partners at Howard University on Project Elevate Black Voices has been a tremendous and personal honor,' said Courtney Heldreth, co-principal investigator at Google Research. 'It's our mission at Google to make technology that's useful and accessible, and I truly believe that our work here will allow more users to express themselves authentically when using smart devices.' Howard University will retain ownership of the dataset and licensing, and serve as stewards for its responsible use, ensuring the data benefits Black communities. Google can also use the dataset to improve its own products, ensuring that their tools work for more people. Google performs this type of model training work with all sorts of dialects, languages, and accents around the US and the world. 'As a community-based researcher, I wanted to carefully curate the community activations to be a safe and trusted space for members of the community to share their experiences about tech and AI and to also ask those uncomfortable questions regarding data privacy,' said Lucretia Williams, Ph.D., project lead and Howard University researcher. The project team adopted a community-centric approach to audio data collection by organizing curated events in several cities, centering around Black panelists who both live and work in those communities. These panelists facilitated open and transparent discussions focused on Black culture, the intersection of technology and Black experiences, the growing presence of AI, and the importance of the Black community's active participation in innovation. At the end of each event, the team introduced a three-week audio data collection initiative, inviting participants to sign up and contribute their voices and experiences to the project. The Howard African American English Dataset 1.0 will initially be made available exclusively to researchers and institutions within historically Black colleges and universities to ensure that the data is employed in ways that reflect the interests and needs of marginalized communities, specifically African American communities whose linguistic practices have often been excluded or misrepresented in computational systems. The release of this dataset to entities outside the HBCU network will be held for consideration at a later date, with the intention of prioritizing those whose work aligns with the values of inclusivity, empowerment, and community-driven research. ### About Howard University Howard University, established in 1867, is a leading private research university based in Washington, D.C. Howard's 14 schools and colleges offer 140 undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs and lead the nation in awarding doctoral degrees to African American students. Howard is the top-ranked historically Black college or university according to Forbes and is the only HBCU ranked among U.S. News & World Report's Top 100 National Universities. Renowned for its esteemed faculty, high achieving students, and commitment to excellence, leadership, truth and service, Howard produces distinguished alumni across all sectors, including the first Black U.S. Supreme Court justice and the first woman U.S. vice president; Schwarzman, Marshall, Rhodes and Truman Scholars; prestigious fellows; and over 165 Fulbright recipients. Learn more at Attachment Howard University and Google Research elevate Black American dialects in AI CONTACT: Carol Wilkerson Howard University 202-288-7071 in to access your portfolio
CNET
09-06-2025
- Business
- CNET
This Exclusive StackSocial Offer Can Help You Learn 14 Different Languages
If you've always wanted to take your language skills to the next level, there's no time like the present. Whether it's French, Italian, Indonesian or one of the eleven other languages Babbel offers, right now StackSocial has an exclusive offer. You can gain access to a lifetime subscription to Babbel for only $130. Just use the coupon LEARN40 for an extra $40 off the price. This is a limited-time offer and one of the best we've seen, so don't wait to grab this deal while you can. Babbel's extensive language software includes Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, Swedish, Indonesian, Portuguese and more. Lessons are short, so you won't find yourself overwhelmed with information. The skill levels range from beginner to advanced, and the content is self-paced. Babbel's speech recognition software offers instant feedback so you know where you're going right and where things can be improved, and personalized review sessions help reinforce what you've already learned. Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money. The Babbel app works on phones and computers, and while you do need an internet connection to get the most out of it, an offline mode gives you access to key features if you download them ahead of time. Why this deal matters A lifetime subscription is always a good way to avoid adding another monthly fee to your growing collection, and it removes the pressure of a restrictive timeline from your learning. Plus, buying lifetime access directly from Babbel would normally cost $599. Even with the current promotion there, this StackSocial deal beats the price by a long shot. Just make sure to order your subscription before this deal ends, and remember that you have only 30 days after your purchase to redeem the subscription. Note: Though this is advertised as a lifetime subscription, there are no guarantees that purchases will be supported for life. As we've seen in the past, a change of ownership, a service shutting down or some other unforeseen circumstance may result in your lifetime subscription ending sooner than anticipated.
CNET
24-05-2025
- Business
- CNET
Unlock New Language Skills With Babbel Thanks to This Special Offer From StackSocial
Learning a new language is the perfect way to make new friends, feel at ease when you travel or pad your resume. If this is one of your goals, then this deal on Babbel's language learning app might pique your interest. Now is a great time to grab a lifetime subscription to the app for just $130 if you redeem the code LEARN40 at StackSocial when you checkout. Although there's no set deadline for this deal's end, we suggest acting fast to secure the opportunity to learn any of the 14 languages available through this software. Babbel's extensive language software includes Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, Swedish, Indonesian, Portuguese and more. Lessons are short, so you won't find yourself overwhelmed with information. The skill levels range from beginner to advanced, and the content is self-paced. Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money. Babbel's speech recognition software offers instant feedback so you know where you're going right and where things can be improved, and personalized review sessions help reinforce what you've already learned. The Babbel app works on phones and on computers, and while you do need an internet connection to get the most out of it, an offline mode gives you access to key features if you download them ahead of time. Why this deal matters A lifetime subscription is always a good way to avoid adding another monthly fee to your growing collection, and it removes the pressure of a restrictive timeline from your learning. Plus, buying lifetime access directly from Babbel would normally cost $599. Even with the current promotion there, this StackSocial deal beats the price by a long shot. Just make sure to order your subscription before this deal ends and remember that you have only 30 days after your purchase to redeem the subscription.
