Soon, an artificially intelligent machine that converses with humans

Scientists are working on a voice-activated technology involving artificial intelligence, which will soon allow machines to talk to the users.

The technology will help machines become familiar with a user's voice, with the ultimate goal that it can understand, speak and behave like a human.

Although the five-year, £6.2-million project is still in its infancy, the researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh, Cambridge and Sheffield believe the technology will have benefits manifolds.

According to them, it could improve voice-activated computers, develop web search engines for audio clips and create voice-controlled devices for the home.

The voice-controlled devices could be of real help for older people staying independently.
 
“We are working to develop technologies that can recognise and generate natural-sounding speech,” the Daily Mail quoted Professor Steve Renals, of the University of Edinburgh's School of Informatics as saying.

“This could open the door to computer speech technology becoming commonplace throughout our lives - at home, at work, and in our leisure time,” he added.

The technology that responds to speech will be able to recognise an individual's voice and become familiar with their vocabulary, accent and vocal expressions.

It could also be able to follow the flow of a conversation and to gloss over changes in background noise, the researchers believe.