Voice as computing interface
In our always changing technology environment, the question of when our voices will begin to play a bigger role in the computing interface instead of using a keyboard and a mouse has always fascinated me . I mean, why not, it is easier and much more secure that a normal keyboard and a mouse.
It seems that this will become more mainstream as we speak :) Pun intended.
If we look at the most used operating systems like, Windows 10 - Cortana and Apple's Siri, the technology is already available on all the latest devices. It is up to us to now adopt the change. I personally still feel a bit silly speaking to my computer :)
There is however definitely a place for this technology, especially while driving or when typing Steemit article.
When I read the post about the STEEM commander from @williambanks's I remembered reading a lot about voice as a computing interface in the most recent Internet Trends study by KPCB.
I thought that I will share some of the facts and stats about where we are in the world with this technology set in order to support @williambanks in his project.
Voice is the Most Efficient Form of Computing Input
As speech recognition accuracy goes from say 95% to 99%, all of us in the room will go from barely using it today to using it all the time. Most people underestimate the difference between 95% and 99% accuracy – 99% is a game changer...
No one wants to wait 10 seconds for a response. Accuracy, followed by latency, are the two key metrics for a production speech system… ANDREW NG, CHIEF SCIENTIST AT BAIDU
The number of words recognized by machines increased tremendously over the past few decades. 
But more importantly the accuracy levels showed a massive increase over the past few years on the latest platforms.
Mobile Voice Assistant Usage
Due to the above technology improvements the Mobile Voice Assistant usage is also picking up.
What is the reason for using voice and where is voice used most?
When users were asked why they will use Voice commands instead of typing, I thing the information below shows some obvious reasons on why people use the technology. I was however surprised that more people is using it at home than in their cars.
When I started in the IT industry many years ago, I believed that anything is possible and had a We can do it! attitude and to add to that I had a let's build it and they will come attitude. I still believe that you can do a lot to promote a product or service when you have something to show the customer.
I have however matured in the industry and I now believe that the demand for a specific service or product re in line with the technology progress and the required for this product or service . I do not think that even if we had a full working voice operated computer 10 years ago, it would have been used as much as it will be used when we get this today. I believe this is due to the fact that everything need to evolve into through time. We did not need Voice operations as much as we need this now.
This is the reason I believe that the Blockchain technology, will be adopted much faster as anything we have seen before. The time for blockchain and cryptocurrency is now
I will write a follow up piece on which companies are currently leading the race in the development of Voice Operation as a Computer interface.
Happy Steeming
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It'd certainly be nice. Unfortunately machines can't seem to understand me.
Seems to be a thing that's being worked on. Here is a documentary demonstrating the state of the art...
Some people it can. Some not. My wife can use voice to text on her cell phone fine.
Doesnt' work for me.
Besides...I prefer typing anyway...on a full sized keyboard NOT a 'phone (that's something else I can't do)
What about eyeballs? I think there's potential given that languange/accent issue is non-existent.
This is an excellent article!
I really do believe that voice control is the future of computing.
Thank you for featuring my project in this. even though it's intended to help with low voice situations the reality is that it does have so much wider applicability then simply aiding low vision users.
Thank you @williambanks, your post inspired me to write this article. I'll do another one today.
@jacor , I still remember 5.5 floppies, 500M hard drives and MOSAIC.
LOL @streetstyle, my first PC, (that is now after the Commodore 64, and the likes) was an IBM Personal PC (XT), then . When I studied, I had a 386 with 4 MB of RAM and a 100 MB Hard Drive. IT was amazing to see how many student came to see the "Beast" for the speed.
Do you mean 5.25 inch floppies? I remember those too. Back when floppies really were floppy.
@williambanks lol you're right. I was creating my own frankie baby between the 3.5 and the 5.25
The funniest thing was that in South Africa we called the 5.25 inch floppies, and when the 3.5 inch was released we called it "stiffies". I lived in the UK for a few years between 1998 and 2004, and the guys laughed their asses off when I called the 3.5 inch ones "stiffies" :)
Can't wait for the day when I can discard both the keyboard and the mouse and just use my voice instead.